Chapter 16: Post-Marital Ambush
Percy gritted his teeth as he swung his weapon of choice aggressively. He missed once again, and his target scuttled several feet away. Percy bounded after it, striking again and again, missing again and again. Frustrated, he hurled his weapon at the intruder suddenly positioned on the other side of the room.
His flip-flop collided with the uncomfortably large spider that was skittering up the far wall. Percy scrunched his nose, satisfied by his handiwork but disappointed that he would definitely be paying the repair costs for their AirBnb. Dislodging his slipper from the newly dented wall, he heard his mattress stir.
"Are you done yet?" a sleepy voice murmured from under the sheets.
"Yeah. Sorry, Arty, did I wake you up?" Percy asked softly as he climbed back into bed.
"No, you destructively slapping shoes against everything in the room didn't wake me," the goddess replied, somehow using her voice to roll her eyes.
Percy laughed quietly as he pulled Artemis close. Her face softened, wiping away the irritation of being woken up, and the pair laid together in silence for a while longer. Artemis eventually lifted her head from Percy's chest as the morning sun streamed into their room. He refused to let go as she moved to sit up.
"We have a big day today, Percy. We've been in Sydney a day too long, and need to get the girls to New York before you, Thalia, and I go to Olympus," Artemis tried to explain, playfully pulling away from him.
"Five more minutes," he mumbled as he kept his eyes shut.
Artemis relented, not wanting to start their day either, and buried her head back in his shoulder. An orange flash appeared in the room followed by a groan. The couple's heads turned to find Apollo standing at the foot of the bed, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose and his other hand on his hip.
"Still not used to this," he said to himself before addressing the pair, "Dad noticed you guys were behind schedule, and was about to send Hermes to check in when you didn't show up to the meeting. You're welcome that I offered instead. Now let's go, we've got a wedding tonight."
They dragged themselves out of bed, and Percy gathered their things while Artemis left to tell the hunters to do the same. She nodded to her twin on her way out of the room, surprised that he was willing to help them keep their secret. Between stuffing suitcases, Percy turned to the sun god.
"Thanks for being so cool about everything, Apollo. I know it's still weird for you, bu–"
"Yeah, yeah, but that's just because it's been a certain way for literally thousands of years. There was also that dick, Orion. Nothing ever happened between them, but I still hated it. But you make her happy, Perce. And I think since that day on Olympus, she's started being nicer to me," Apollo answered, waving him off.
"Hah, oh yeah. I can't believe it's already been two months since you threatened to, what was it? Throw me into the sun?" Percy asked.
*Flashback*
The throne room sat empty besides Artemis, Apollo, and a petrified demigod between the two. The sun god moved rigidly towards Percy, who decided to awkwardly wave. Artemis worriedly realized that her brother knew what was going on, but she rolled her eyes when he pulled out his bow. Percy stood up straight as an arrow shot towards him.
The demigod shifted to the side as he stuck his hand out and caught the projectile, looking at the sun god apologetically. After he'd been stunned for a moment, Apollo threw his bow down and quickened his pace. Artemis appeared between the pair with her eyes narrowed at her fuming twin.
"What are you doing?! You are humiliating yourself!" she hissed.
Apollo looked at her baffled. He sputtered.
"Wh-what am I doing? What are you doing? You two were in his tent together, weren't you? He wasn't just in there jerki–"
"Woah, what?" Percy interjected.
"You, shut up!" the twins snapped at him in unison before returning to face each other.
Artemis wanted to remain angry, to shout at her brother for being so embarrassing. But she knew he meant well. The goddess sighed.
"Yes, Percy and I have feelings for each other and are together. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I care for him and this is not up for discussion," Artemis said firmly, calming her tone.
Apollo's own expression softened at how adamant she seemed. He'd never had any real reason to be protective of Artemis, considering how fiercely independent she'd always been, and he felt the need to make up for it. His eyes narrowed when they found Percy again.
"Fine," he said as he stepped past his sister, who stood stunned.
She watched the sun god throw an arm around Percy's shoulder and walk him towards the hearth.
"You switched up pretty quickly, Apollo," the demigod said tentatively as he was led away from Artemis.
"As much as we fight, I love my sister very, very much. I remember how she looked at you after the battle in New Rome when you healed her cut, and I've never seen her look at anybody like that," Apollo began with a slight edge in his voice.
Even with the distance put between them, Artemis could hear him. She'd never admit out loud that she loved her brother just as much as she found him insufferable, and she really did want him to be comfortable with her and Percy. As Apollo continued, the goddess remained silent, content not letting him know she was listening in.
"If you really make her happy, I can learn to get used to it. But for now, it's just an older brother thing–"
"I HELPED MOTHER DELIVER YOU! I AM THE OLDER ONE!" Artemis shouted, retracting her previous decision.
Apollo froze in place, mentally scolding himself for not walking further away, before he grinned and returned Percy to where Artemis was fuming.
"Okay, since you could hear me, let's just get the rest out here," Apollo said, his expression darkening again, "I'm going to let this continue with no problems. But if you hurt her, I'm going to drag you into my chariot and throw you into the sun."
"I guess that's fair. But even if I did, which I wouldn't, Artemis would just kill me first," Percy answered smugly, leading to Apollo's confusion and Artemis' pleasure.
The goddess tapped Percy's shoulder, and he disappeared in a flash of silver. Immediately after he'd gone, Artemis roughly grabbed the sun god by the collar and yanked him to eye level.
"Listen, you moron," she started, her brother staring back with wide eyes.
Artemis realized that maybe she was being a little excessive and let go of him. She still felt miffed about being called the younger one, and Apollo threatening Percy like she needed to be protected had only irritated her more. But the goddess understood that his heart was in the right place.
"Thank you for what you said; I love you too," Artemis settled on, kissing his cheek before turning to leave.
"Oh, and Apollo? Especially after these past few months, the answer to who would win in a duel between you and Percy is not what you would like," she said, smirking as she disappeared in a silver light.
*End Flashback*
Apollo laughed uncomfortably, recalling what Artemis had said after sending Percy away. He didn't spend much time dwelling over whether or not a demigod really could best him in combat, but he knew if one could, it'd be the one in front of him. Artemis walked back into the room, and the trio got ready to leave.
"All the girls have cleared their houses and are gathered outside. Apollo, could you take them all to Olympus East in your bus-chariot?" Artemis asked.
"Come on, can't we just call it Camp Half-Blood? Nobody likes Olympus East; dad just wanted it to sound more official," Apollo complained.
The goddess waved him away as he left to drive the hunters to camp.
"Anyways. Percy, you may need to handle payment on that renting website. Thalia told me they 'may or may not have' broken several appliances in every house," Artemis said, air quoting.
Percy smiled, grateful that he wouldn't be the only one at fault for repair fees.
"Yeah, we'll handle it," he said.
"Alright then, since we did not make it to the meeting, I am going to go update my father that we can mark Australia off of the list," Artemis said, squeezing Percy's shoulder, "I am sorry we didn't find Poseidon, but we still narrowed down the list. And thank you for last night, I had a great time."
Percy smiled. While scouring the city, Artemis had heard about Sydney's legendary coral reefs and the surrounding ecosystem. Percy had immediately jumped at the opportunity after concluding his search, taking the goddess on another underwater date. They'd lost track of time walking along the seafloor, entranced by the colorful landscape, and had missed the assembly entirely.
"I did too, Artemis," Percy replied as he quickly kissed her.
"I'll see you at the wedding," Artemis said as she disappeared.
Left alone, Percy sighed. He realized he had to fly all the way to New York.
(Line Break)
The central plaza of Olympus looked just as Percy had remembered, except topped with several layers of wedding decor. Bundles of pink and gold roses sat in every surrounding window of the plaza. Rows upon rows of chairs filled the front half of the courtyard for when the ceremony was supposed to begin. The elevated wedding altar stood further ahead of the chairs, right on the path leading to the throne room. It had a traditional arch of assorted flowers and was framed from behind by a half circle of white, Greek columns. A web of lights crawled across the roofs that surrounded the plaza, encompassing the open area in a fishnet ceiling.
Walking alongside the silver fountain that dominated the center of the space, Percy fiddled with his pocket square. He wore a black tux with a white shirt, the dress code for all of the groomsmen, and had a pocket square of his own choice. Before Thalia had left with Artemis to choose dresses, she'd very heavily implied that he should choose silver, so he did. The demigod took a seat on the edge of the water, still readjusting the peeking sliver of silver.
"Hey, handsome. Mind if I join you?" A breathy voice asked as a hand ran along Percy's shoulder.
He instinctively recoiled, not recognizing who was speaking, before he looked up and his mouth dropped. Thalia stood over him laughing in a silver mini dress, wearing light makeup, and with her hair done up in a braided high bun.
"What the Hades happened to you?" Percy asked.
"What? I can't get all up and pretty for my date?" she asked in the same mockingly-alluring tone.
"You look really nice but stop that, you sound like Aphrodite," Percy said smiling, "Where's Artemis?"
"She'll be here when the ceremony starts. But you're really not ready to see her, Perce; it's gonna kill ya," Thalia said, dropping the fake voice.
"I bet. Oh shoot, it's starting." Percy outstretched his elbow. "You ready, date?"
Thalia smirked and locked her arm through his, the duo falling into line with the rest of their friends that were a part of the wedding. They lined up on the side of the fountain that faced the altar, speaking quietly as the guests all took their seats. Thalia nudged Percy towards the front row. He caught just a glimpse of auburn hair before Zeus' frame blocked his view.
"Dammit, dad," Thalia groaned, "Guess you'll have to wait until we're up there. Artemis' seat is right next to his, so don't be ogling her for too long or Zeus might literally kill you in front of everyone."
Before Percy could respond, Jason stepped up to the altar accompanied by Hera, who'd agreed to ordain the wedding for one of the only demigods she'd ever favored. Several wolf whistles came from the groomsmen standing at the fountain, none louder than Leo.
"Lookin' good, Blonde Superman!" he shouted, eliciting laughter from the seated guests.
Slow music rolled down the plaza as all heads turned towards the fountain. Leo cleared his throat, lowering his head and offering his arm to Calypso. The titaness smiled at his antics as she slipped her arm through his, and they made their way to the altar. They were followed immediately by Frank and Hazel, then Reyna and Nico, and finally Thalia and Percy. As he passed the front row, Percy kept his eyes forward, using all of his self control not to be caught looking at Artemis.
The pairs split at the lifted altar, taking their respective positions. When Percy turned towards the seated crowd, his eyes drifted on their own and his breath hitched. He'd found Artemis in her seat, already smiling at him, wearing a silver lace-up. The demigod pulled on his collar, his face immediately heating, but he couldn't look away.
'You look very handsome, Percy,' Artemis mouthed to him, leaning forward.
Percy only snapped out of his stupor when he felt his friends shuffle. He found them pinning on their boutonnières as the music changed. Quickly reaching into his breast pocket, he pulled out his own floral accessory, an amaranth boutonnières, and latched it to his coat.
'You look unbelievable,' he mouthed back while pointing to her sacred flower.
Artemis smiled at him again before she turned to her father. Percy breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that Thalia had kept Zeus engaged in a silent discussion. She promptly cut it off when Percy turned towards her.
'Idiot. I knew you'd stare.'
Percy just grinned sheepishly in reply. The shift in music had been accompanied by Annabeth walking down the aisle alone with a bouquet, which was tradition for the Maid of Honor. She'd just taken her spot on the altar opposite Leo when Aphrodite jumped up from her seat and snapped her fingers. Doves materialized overhead, and their fluttering wings sprinkled the central aisle with rose petals. The music changed again, beginning a familiar tune for many weddings.
Every row of guests rose to their feet and turned towards the fountain. Piper appeared at the end of the aisle arm-in-arm with her movie star father, Tristan McLean. With the attention rightfully focused on the beautiful bride, Percy no longer had to try and avert his eyes from Artemis. His gaze never left the goddess in her floor-length dress while Piper made her way to and up the altar. Artemis turned to find him still staring, and she blushed as everyone took their seats.
While Hera ordained the couple, Percy's eyes shifted longingly between them and Artemis, imagining a future where everyone would be as happy for them as he was for Jason and Piper. Artemis found herself doing the same, glancing at Percy each time the couple exchanged vows, quietly considering what she would say to him if it were them up there. They locked eyes when both Jason and Piper said "I do," only looking away when the guests erupted in cheers, and the groomsmen lifted Jason into the air following the sealing kiss.
(Line Break)
Hours later, the wedding festivities had finally wound down. Most of the guests had left, wishing the newlyweds happy immortal lives. The only remaining people were the ones that had stood on the altar with the couple. They lounged around a circular table, the only one still standing upright, laughing about the party and how wasted some people had gotten. As if on queue, Piper hiccuped, and her head bounced up from Jason's shoulder. The table roared with laughter as they argued about how much champagne Aphrodite had gotten her daughter to drink.
Percy's head lulled back in his chair. He was sober, but extremely tired. Like all of the other groomsmen at the table, his coat was off, his undone tie hung around his neck, and his sleeves rolled up past his forearms. It was the only way to not pass out after trying to keep up with some of the minor gods when it came to dancing for hours. Percy was also feeling a bit bummed; he'd had to spend much less time with Artemis than he'd wanted to during the wedding. But they both had known that too much time together would've just led to trouble with so many people around. Seemingly reading his mind, Hazel spoke up.
"Did you guys see Lady Artemis tonight?"
The women at the table erupted about her dress and how she'd looked. They vocally admired the goddess while the boys wisely kept their mouths shut, playing it safe just in case articulating that the Goddess of the Hunt was beautiful could render them forest animals. Percy left his stare on the ground until he felt a pair of eyes on him. He'd figured it was Thalia, and he was surprised when Piper quickly looked away as he lifted his head. The conversation shifted, and the demigod again found himself lost in his thoughts.
A period eventually arrived where everyone had excused themselves to the restroom, to get another drink, or something or other, leaving only Percy, Thalia, and Piper at the table. The daughter of Aphrodite again looked at Percy curiously.
"You know she feels the same way about you, right?" Piper asked.
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Percy asked in response.
The recent bride rolled her eyes.
"You and Artemis. When I was walking down the aisle, and you thought nobody was watching, I saw the way you were looking at her. And when Jason and I were exchanging vows, you two were literally pulling my focus. I couldn't fully concentrate just because of how much I was feeling between you two," Piper explained.
"Are you serious? Gods, I wanted to tell her, but there were so many people around," he bemoaned.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone is gone. Go tell her, Perce! I want to hear all about how this whole thing happened after my honeymoon. But for now, go!"
Percy gave Piper a quick kiss on the cheek, congratulated her again, and told her and Thalia he'd see them in a little. Then the demigod was off. He flung on his coat, redid his tie, and straightened his square and then flower. Tearing into the throne room, he only found Demeter and Dionysus playing cards, and he ran back out before processing their bewildered stares. The demigod launched high into the sky, surveilling the city before he locked on to a silver dress in the far corner of a garden.
Percy touched down a few feet behind the auburn-haired goddess and retracted his wings.
"You know, it's not polite to look better than the bride on her wedding day, right?" he asked, stepping forward and gently grasping the goddess' hand.
"I could say the same to you, Percy," Artemis replied as she turned, and her other hand found his shoulder.
"Did you mean that I look better than the bride or the groom?" he asked as he wrapped his free arm around her waist.
"Take your pick," Artemis answered as they started slow-dancing in the silent garden.
"Artemis, I've been meaning to tell you something. And this is a pretty perfect setting for it. You're the most–"
"I love you," Artemis blurted out, stunning the demigod.
"I love you," she repeated more firmly, "The only regret of my lifetime is that I could not meet you sooner. You are unlike anyone I have ever met, man or woman. Your selflessness, your loyalty, your kindness, your everything. I love you."
"That was supposed to be my line," Percy said quietly, "I love you, Artemis. You gave me a new home at the worst time of my life, and I unknowingly started falling in love with you from the first moment. Your strength, and how caring you are, and the fact that, like now, you never stop surprising me. It really doesn't help that you're also the most beautiful woman I've ever met."
"I love you, Percy."
"I love you, Artemis."
They pulled each other closer, dancing to the silence of the garden, holding on tight to yet another ephemeral moment that they hoped would stretch into forever.
(Line Break)
Percy swung his feet lazily atop Zeus' Fist, whistling while the red flag behind him fluttered in the wind. It was the evening of the day after Jason and Piper's wedding, and it was time for Campers vs. Hunters in Capture the Flag. Percy had been forcibly remanded to guard duty to ensure that the game wasn't over even faster than it normally was. He still expected another uneventful round, betting that no more than three campers would reach him before Thalia returned with the enemy flag. The game had just begun, so Percy had a few minutes to kill before even the first camper got to him.
He groaned when he heard branches rustling behind him, figuring it must be Nico shadow traveling in to steal their flag. Percy slipped down from his perch, Riptide drawn as he got ready to jump on his sneaky cousin. But the demigod stumbled backwards when Oceanus emerged from the forest and snapped their flag between his fingers.
"Not who you were expecting, Perseus?" the titan spat.
Percy twirled Riptide in his hand as he narrowed his eyes.
"When angered, the resemblance to your father is uncanny," Oceanus cackled.
"Where is he?!"
"Defeat me, and I will be happy to tell you."
Percy grinned as he readied his sword to dismantle the titan, but Oceanus held up his hand.
"First, I have heard that you have wings now. Fly up and have a look around, then come down and fight."
Percy eyed his opponent warily before the Titan of the Sea grunted.
"So untrusting," he mocked, "I will not attack you until you return to fight me. I swear on the Styx."
Percy rose through a gap in the trees overhead, and his heart clenched at the sight and the screams that reached his ears. A fire raged on the far side of the forest, and the demigod was able to make out Prometheus carrying a torch. Several cabins burned as well, and Percy caught the shapes of Leon and Clytius. Throughout the forest, he saw several more hulking figures.
A muscle-bound titan tore straight through trees, scattering and silencing campers. Percy watched as a pair of giants heaved a hulking boulder through the Big House. In total, he saw about a dozen figures wreaking havoc on the camp, and he felt powerless to stop them all. The demigod forced himself not to panic, to focus on the present and not let his mind dwell on how they'd entered camp. Oceanus seemed to sense the demigod's plight.
"You see, Perseus? You have already lost! Call your gods, and lead them to their glorious deaths, or remain silent and let them die later. Now come down and face me!" the titan bellowed.
Percy clasped his hands, praying to Artemis, Hestia, even Chaos, with the single-minded wish to bring every reachable Olympian to camp, and he dove towards the titan. Percy's fists glowed blue as he bridged the gap between him and his opponent. Flashes of light began to appear overhead as one of Percy's fists exploded against Oceanus' jaw.
A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry. I PROMISE this is the last cliffhanger for at least a couple chapters. I really couldn't resist considering how huge of an attack this is. No lesser monsters and just a dozen of the heaviest hitters united on one front? Percy might honestly be a dead man, but if anyone will survive it's him. Hope you guys enjoyed the story, please review!
Kyt Lestrange: Hello again! Thank you for this chapter. A little breather for what is yet to come. Can you, pretty please, stop pulling cliffhangers like that :-P My heart can't take it anymore ;-) Don't pull an Aphrodite on us when you're writing the wedding scene. I believe she is already overboarding with it (Doves, pink and gold roses, champagne... oh my goodness, I am visualizing it now) I can't wait to read from you soon. Keep up the good work. Kyt
Hope you enjoyed seeing your details worked into the wedding scene ;) I felt like I owed it to you after realizing I was going to give you such a serious cliffhanger. Thank you for the review, and I hope the wedding was up to your standards!
Guest: Dude, Apollo is the God of truth, he can tell when someone's lying, and he is not an idiot Percy has a terrible poker face
Oh for sure. I cleared it up in this chapter to make sure, but Apollo absolutely did not believe Percy was doing weird water tricks in his tent. He thought he was, uh, doing something that I'm pretty sure I can't explicitly mention without changing the rating of my story. Hope that clears it up that Apollo just thought he was being a little weird haha.