Percy's old truck hummed as he pulled into a parking spot. It was secluded and he wasn't too worried about their things being stolen. Even if it did, he could replace all the other things. None of it was so important that he would go crazy if he lost anything.

Artemis took a deep breath of the fresh air and Percy studied her carefully. She was giving off just a subtle glow. The forest reacted to her as if she was her patron god but in reality she was close to it through her domain of hunting. Still, the forest seemed to pay attention to the goddess. He figured it probably had something to do with the fact that she said her hunters made a habit to come back to this forest.

Stepping up behind the goddess, he intertwined their fingers and set off to reach their destination. The sun was bright in the sky, shining down on them. Artemis seemed to enjoy herself and Percy realized pretty quickly that she had a goal in mind of where they were going. He figured it had something to do with where the hunters always camped. That definitely eased his soul because he hadn't thought about the fact that he probably would have wandered around blindly until they found their destination.

Artemis had yet to let go of his hand. She just dragged him along as she skillfully walked the path as she had done many times before. He knew she could probably move through this forest faster and more efficiently but instead she kept to his pass. She didn't drag him through the mud.

They had come for a brief stop, staring down at the forest below them. Percy absentmindedly rubbed his thumb against her hand as he watched her. She was staring down at the forest around them, admiring it.

"It's beautiful up here, huh Percy." She whispered softly, closing her eyes and smiling.

Percy had yet to stop staring at her, his eyes scanning every part of her face that he could. "Yeah, It's beautiful."

After another hour of traveling down the mountain this time, they stumbled upon a deer. It raised its head and stared at them frozen. It seemed absolutely petrified but Artemis held her palm out and whispered to it gently in ancient greek. The doe seemed to catch her meaning as it relaxed slowly and walked forward to place its head in her hand.

Percy cautiously stepped forward to examine the deer closer. He had never been this close to one. Artemis had grabbed his wrist and slowly placed his hand on the doe's forehead. It let out a slight noise but otherwise let Percy continue to pet it gently. His heart was soaring at the fact that the animal had peacefully let him pet it.

They pet the deer for another 15 minutes before they had to set off. Artemis had mumbled something about being there before nightfall so they could get set up and camped out.

Artemis let out a frown as she came to a clearing. Silver tents stood tall and smoke rose into the sky from a large campfire. Artemis turned to look at Percy, her eyes wide while he grinned back at her. Artemis snapped her head back to the group before looking at Percy again.

Unable to contain herself she let go of his hand and ran forward, calling out for her hunters. "Girls! Girls come here!"

The hunters started to come to the center of the camp all wearing a face of surprise and shock. Of course, many had listened as Percy said he would bring Artemis to them, not many had believed him. It's not like they hated him, no most actually liked him, but it was hard to trust the word of a man.

"Lady Artemis!"

"Mi'lady!"

More girls started to shout out happily as they pulled the goddess into a hug. A grin spread across his face as he watched the girls hug the crap out of their patron.

"Kelp head!" Thalia called out loudly as she started to charge at Percy.

Fear gripped his soul as he realized he couldn't stop the charging Daughter of Zeus so he simply braced for the tackle and shock he was going to receive. Instead he was brought into the embrace of his cousin. She was holding him tightly.

"Yeah, yeah. I missed you too Pinecone Face." He breathed out, squeezing her slightly for good measure.

She pulled away and punched him in the shoulder before beckoning him forward to the group ahead of him. The other girls had turned to watch the exchange and many of them were grinning as he rubbed his arm.

"Gods Thals, you had to give me a dead arm?"

"Of course, I had to make sure you knew just how much I missed you. You don't IM me enough anymore. Can I not miss my baby cousin?" Thalia chided out to him as they finally reached the other girls.

He tipped his head in respect at them before awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey ladies, how we doing today?"

Atlanta snorted in amusement, "Smooth Percy, smooth."

The group started to laugh at his expense and Percy just shook his head, a smile grazing his lips. He couldn't help but watch Artemis as she greeted some of the younger hunters. She was smiling and playing with their hair. Many of the older hunters watched Percy watch Artemis. They couldn't believe that she was willingly showing this side to the man but even more surprised that when she turned around and locked eyes with him, she didn't threaten him. She just grinned at him and started to speak with more hunters.

As he was casually sitting there, observing, he was greeted by a horrific sight. Phoebe, Thalia and Atlanta now stood in front of his view.

"C'mon Perce, let's have a chat." Thalia said, curiosity brimming in her voice.

Artemis was too occupied with the girls to realize that her highest ranking hunters were currently dragging the man she had spent the past two weeks befriending away.

Percy followed after them, resigned to his fate. If this is where he went down he was really hoping he wasn't made into another myth like the past Greek heroes.

"So, why did you bring Lady Artemis here boy." Phoebe practically growled out. She was staring at him intently, her eyes a bright red. She was definitely a Daughter of Ares alright.

Atlanta and Thalia seemed more curious than malicious. They were watching him intently, determined to weed out any lies he told.

"Artemis made a book of things she wanted to do while she was mortal, disobeying her father's orders was one of the things she wanted to do. I also know how much she missed you guys so I brought her here. She didn't know we were coming therefore Zeus can't punish her for it." Percy answered quickly, sucking in air afterwards.

Thalia and Phoebe looked at Atlanta who nodded, "He tells the truth."

So Atlanta had that handy gift from her father. She seemed genuinely curious, like she was trying to test his limits. Test his resolve over the situation. Thalia stepped forward and narrowed her eyes.

"That doesn't explain why you were staring at her like that, Seaweed Brain."

"Like what, Thals?" Percy asked in confusion which promptly confused the other three.

"Like…" Atlanta chuckled slightly, "Like she hung the moon in the sky."

Percy, Phoebe and Thalia were quick to let out a groan. Were all Apollo's kids carbon copies of the man?

"Even if she said it like that, Atlanta is correct. You stare after Artemis like she is the most precious thing in the world. I don't think I've even ever seen you stare at Annabeth like that." Thalia murmured out, getting lost in her own thoughts. Clearly trying to figure out if she had ever seen him look like that before.

"I don't look at her like that! At least I don't think so. Do I?" Percy got lost in his own thoughts, damned ADHD.

Phoebe leaned forward and slapped both Thalia and Percy over the head causing them both to let out a not very heroic scream. This caused the two oldest hunters to burst out laughing as the cousins glared at them. Percy manipulated the water in the nearby creek and splashed it on them while Thalia quickly tapped them with a slight electric shock.

Now it was Percy and Thalia's turn to burst out laughing as both hunters fell to the ground, shaking. Phoebe went to stand up but her leg spasmed and she slipped back into the dirt causing them to only laugh harder. Atlanta had just resigned to her fate and now laid in the bed like nothing had changed.

After a few minutes of laughter and loud curse words from a certain war daughter, they were all sat on the ground staring at one another.

"So, Percy. Do you like Artemis?" Atlanta asked, staring him directly in the eye.

Percy choked on his spit and stared at her in horror. How could she just blurt out a question like that? Especially one of that nature. "No! I - What! I can't like the virgin goddess!"

"You're lying." Atlanta said bluntly, causing him to groan. Phoebe and Thalia watched curiously. Letting Percy continue to be interrogated by the Daughter of Apollo who could tell if he was lying or not.

"Well! I- I uh, I haven't acted on it!"

"Does Artemis know?"

"I think so, I'm not sure."

Atlanta was staring him in the eye as she asked the next question, daring him to give her the wrong answer. "Does she like you back?"

Percy kept a blank face, trying hard not to give away the fact that he was shitting bricks at that question.

"I'm taking your silence as a yes. You know, I was there when Orion first joined the hunt." Phoebe said darkly, her eyes intimidating. "I was there and watched him gain her trust, watched as Artemis started to trust him around us alone. You know what else I watched Perseus?"

Percy gulped and nodded at her, encouraging her to continue speaking.

"I watched as Artemis broke apart realizing that Orion had harmed one of the girls. Watched as Artemis grew more blood thirsty when it came to men. You're a good man Perseus, but we all thought Orion was too."

With that the girl had stood up and started to walk off. Atlanta was quick to stand up and set off after her sister in arms leaving Percy alone with his thoughts cause Thalia didn't seem like she had anything to say yet.

The hunters hadn't killed him but he was figuring it was because Artemis had liked him as well, meaning the feelings were mutual and if Artemis was to come back to her favorite man suddenly dead it wouldn't end well for any party involved. Phoebe and Atlanta didn't know how they felt about it, they wouldn't form an opinion yet.

Although they wouldn't form an opinion, they also wouldn't ignore that Percy had gone out of his way to bring Artemis to the camp and even when staring at the goddess it was purely innocent. His eyes never strayed from her face unless he was looking at the younger hunter's reaction. And when Artemis had locked eyes with him? They realized that it was probably already too late to stop any of the emotions.

"Do you think this is a bad thing, Phoebe?"

"I can't say but at the same time if it makes our lady happy who are we to deny her that. At least she found the only decent male in existence to try and settle down with."

Back with Percy and Thalia, she had finally shaken out of her thoughts and was now watching him.

"So, the feelings are mutual. If you had lied about that, Atlanta would probably have gutted you like a fish. I just have a question, Percy. Why Artemis?"

"Why not?" Percy asked back confidently. "Artemis is stubborn, headstrong and an all around piece of work and yet she's caring, understanding and truthful. You need to look past the aggressive banter and realize that's just how she conveys herself. You can't ask me why until you've seen the woman twirl around in the moonlight to a stupid song blasting out of an old truck radio."

Thalia stared at him with wide eyes, wondering just when he got good with words. Percy hadn't seemed to realize that he had practically declared his love for the goddess.

"All of that and we still can't be together." Percy had seemed to visibly deflate on himself as his shoulders slumped inwards.

Thalia frowned in confusion and worry, "Well, you guys are definitely in for one hell of a ride but since when were you one to back from a challenge?"

"She's a goddess and I'm mortal? I'll die one day. I'm just a simple spec in the long life she's going to have. Do you not see this issue here? I will die eventually. Artemis will not remember me in what, a 1000 years? No, there is no hope for us Thalia."

Thalia scoffed and shook her head. "Percy Jackson doesn't give up. You denied immortality for love once, so why not accept it for love?"

Percy's head shot up as he stared at her in shock.

Artemis had spent a good ten minutes greeting all the hunters before watching Phoebe and Atlanta walk back into the clearing. She quickly looked around realizing that Percy was not anywhere near the vicinity, nor was Thalia for that matter.

"Don't tell me you killed him, you two." Artemis called out to the girls who just gave her a bright smile.

"Of course not! He's still alive for now. Thalia is just finishing up the job!" Atlanta joked loudly causing the hunt to laugh.

Artemis shook her head at all of them. She hadn't realized how much she had missed this. Missed her girls. Missed the way Artemis had felt in their presence. Standing here in the camp she had spent many months in she couldn't help but think about how much she loved this. How much she loved to be with her girls in the forest. The grin on her face wasn't going to go away any time soon.

Thalia and Percy barged back into the clearing. Thalia seemed like she had accomplished something and Percy had a faraway look in his eyes, like he was thinking about something too hard. Artemis decided that he was still alive and that's all that matters considering he was face to face with her head hunters and lived to tell the tale.

Thalia cupped her hands over her mouth and called out, "Well then! Who's ready for dinner?"

Hunters started to sprint to the dining tent. Artemis waited slightly as she watched her hunters fill into the tent to start eating. She walked up to Percy and nudged him with her shoulder. He looked down at her with raised eyebrows and she stared back at him with her own eyebrows raised.

"What's got you using your brain for once?"

Percy just shook his head and grabbed her wrist, leading her to the dining hall. He was quick to let her hand go before they entered. He went to sit at an empty table but Artemis wasn't going to let that happen. She herded him to her own table that she always sat at and started to eat. The other hunters figured that if Artemis was letting him sit at their table then they didn't have anything else to say.

Later that evening, he sat around the campfire. He was leaning his head back against the wood of a cut down tree, his eyes watching the stars with reverence. Tomorrow night would be incredibly dark so he wanted to just enjoy the slight like the moon offered tonight.

Hunters exchanged random stories. They had made a deal that if they told Percy the most interesting stories then he would recount his quests for the girls. They definitely wanted a first hand account of what had happened on his quests to save the world. So far he had heard a story about hunting down a mythological creature that was so old it's name was forgotten. Even Artemis didn't remember the name. Two other stories were similar to the first .The last two were his personal favorites because they came at Artemis's expense.

He had heard of how the goddess had been hunting a simple rabbit and had completely fallen off a cliff into a body of water. She had been so shocked that she forgot she could probably flashed herself out of this situation and simply took a swim. The last story they had told was that Artemis had been caught on multiple accounts trying to sneak into different places on Olympus with Apollo.

Apollo called it sibling bonding, everyone else called it petty theft. That was simply not the point, they were just hanging out together and collecting souvenirs that's all! Still as Percy had promised he told the girls his first five quests. Told them about all he had known at the time. He didn't want to get into the complications of the Giant war so he completely skipped that part.

The hunter's complained when they realized he wasn't going to tell the rest of the story and Artemis was quick to shut that down. She told everyone that it was time to go to bed and that maybe Percy would share the rest of his quest with the girls tomorrow night. Percy had rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly but ultimately decided he wouldn't put too much thought into it. If they wanted to hear about it that much he wouldn't deny them their desire to learn everything.

Artemis went around and made sure that everyone was truly in their beds and it wasn't a problem for anything else. She motioned for Percy to follow her and started the journey to her tent. When they got to the door he stood there awkwardly not sure what to do.

"Come in Percy, I won't kill you."

Percy huffed but otherwise walked in, "I have no trust in that sentence, Do you know how many times I've been told that?"

Artemis laughed slightly and shook her head, "You can sleep in here with me, on the floor of course."

Percy was silent for a second before confusion lit his face. "Why was your tent up?"

Artemis was silent for a second, clearly confused before her eyes widened and she nodded at the inside around her. "As their patron goddess, even if I am mortal, they want to respect me. That's what all of this is about."

Percy nodded and Artemis tossed a couple things off her bed and onto the floor. It took Percy a minute to adjust but right before he was about to sleep he had a terrible nightmare.

"Percy."

"Yeah?"

"We're going to help you use the bow and arrow tomorrow. No if ands or buts."

He let out a loud groan and rolled over, trying to fall asleep.