Song Recommendation: Daylily by Movements (also known as the one of the main inspirations for this fic)

He could have done without the excessive noise, and honestly, without the party as a whole. It didn't help that his assumption about Apollo had been spot on when saying that the sun god wouldn't last longer than fifteen minutes before getting drunk. All it had taken was for the god of poetry to see a cute nymph before he downed three shots and ran off. Last Percy had seen him, he'd been lounging around in a fountain while talking to Demeter. Hermes was doing better though, if only slightly. Currently, the messenger god was stealing snacks off of peoples' plates as he weaved through the crowds. Why? Percy wasn't too sure, but he chose not to question it.

Thankfully, Percy hadn't been bothered too much during the night. He'd been hit on by some younger demigod he didn't recognize but that'd been about it. So far so good. He'd gotten free food which was always a win, and he'd managed to go relatively unnoticed. Another win for him. It seemed that his night might turn out all right. Honestly though, he really just wanted to leave already. He was far too excited thinking about his plans for the next few weeks.

He had a rough idea of a few of the stops he wanted to make, but he knew he wanted to end up in Camp Jupiter before either heading south or even potentially back up north. The plan was to stick towards the northern sections of the states, other than the first few days of their journey in which he would drive down the eastern coast before heading back up on the Appalachian trails. The idea was to start steadily making their way westward while zigzagging through the northern and central portions of the U.S. since he was more of a cold weather person.

Artemis had been interested to hear about this as it wasn't all that different from what her hunt would be doing and as such, they'd planned to meet up in a few different places. It was part of the reason they were actually heading down the eastern coast. They'd meet up with the hunt down in the Blue Ridge area before meeting them again somewhere in the midwest, likely Yellowstone. The rest, they were going to play by ear but that'd been a given.

To say that the young man was excited was an understatement. He wasn't sure about all of the finer details, but he was more than happy to wing it. After all, it was a lot easier to do when one was with a goddess. Speaking of said goddess though, he'd briefly seen her earlier talking to her brother before she'd flashed away, likely to oversee her hunt. She'd hardly been there five minutes, but the goddess had told him that would be the case since she often used the excuse of her hunters needing assistance to get out of such gatherings. And he couldn't blame her.

Sure, they were both technically part of the "who's who" of the Greek world, but the parties were still quite stuffy and boring to them. As it happened, most of the Olympians themselves weren't that bad, but the other minor gods (and generally just most gods) were notoriously egotistical creatures, and cramming that many people into one party often ended up with hurt feelings and maybe a few curses. Why wouldn't he want to avoid that? He'd already been cursed before and he wasn't exactly eager to be on the receiving end of one of those again. Then again, whoever did likely had a death wish as it would mean angering most of the Olympian council.

He glanced at the moon in passing only to realize the time. Apparently, an hour had already passed while he'd been sitting alone in the gardens. Well, it was for the best. It meant that he could disappear now. The question was, where would he go? Maybe he'd just go stay with his mother. Or he could use one of Hermes' or Apollo's many guest rooms. At the very least, he was interested in saying goodbye to a few people so he began to meander his way back inside. He wasn't the least bit surprised to see a host of drunk gods in a circle talking about this or that. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how one viewed it), his father was not among them.

In truth, he wasn't entirely sure where his father would be. Perhaps the throne room? Percy knew that many of the Olympians tended to congregate there, even during such parties. After that, they could be found generally scattered across the acropolis followed by in any of the larger amphitheaters. Percy, lost in such musings, had essentially blanked out most of his surroundings and while he didn't bump into anyone, he did happen to miss someone calling his name. To be fair, the path through the gardens was often empty and so it was rare to find someone here, especially given that it was on the outermost edge of the Acropolis. It was only when he felt someone grab his forearm lightly that he snapped back to reality.

Of all the people, he'd expected it to be Thalia or Reyna or someone like that. Instead, he was met by a girl with curled princess blonde hair and gray eyes. Oh joy.

"Oh, I," Percy felt somewhat awkward speaking to her, waiting for her boyfriend to jump in from somewhere. He careened his head to try and find him but had no such luck. "Didn't see you."

"I can see that," strangely, she was acting as awkwardly as he felt, "Something on your mind?"

"Not really. Did you need something from me?"

She took a quick breath, "Yeah. Did you… have a minute?"

He attempted a quick, polite smile but it came off as more like a wince, "Yeah, what's up?"

She glanced around and grabbed his arm, pulling him over towards a more secluded area of the courtyard. A few years ago, it would have had very different connotations, but now it just made him nervous, "How have you been?"

Percy scratched at his cheek, eyes jumping around from place to place in an effort to not make eye contact, "Fine? Where's your boyfriend?"

"Zelus? We broke up a while ago."

"Oh," Percy was surprised by that and he was pretty sure it showed, "Do I say good for you or?"

She gave a small smile, "Yeah something like that."

"And do I ask what happened?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

He moved to sit down on the edge of a fountain overlooking the edge of the plateau, "Fair enough. Shoot me but he was an asshole."

Annabeth moved to join him and he stiffened a little, though she didn't notice, "I don't even know why I dated him."

Percy didn't either but he wasn't going to say that. He wasn't a fan of the nasty feeling that crept up as he thought about the minor god. "You doing alright?"

She looked at him with a look that he knew all too well, "Not at all."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Annabeth gave him another no as she rubbed her thigh a bit, "Can I help you at all?"

"Probably," her voice wavered and while he didn't feel anything close to love for the girl, he did feel a bit bad. Even if they weren't really on good terms, it was hard to see someone struggle.

His voice was gentle as he tried to approach the conversation as carefully as possible, "What can I do for you?"

She refused to look at him, "I don't know."

He could understand that well enough. It wasn't that long ago that he'd been in the same boat, if not a bit worse off, "Then, I'll wait here if you'd like?"

He suppressed a sigh as she nodded. While he didn't want her to be upset, he wasn't all that eager to be speaking to her either. The silence didn't really help either. Percy just felt awkward as they sat in a suffocating silence, occasionally punctuated by an awkward shift from Percy or a sniffle from Annabeth. After a while though, she sort of slumped into him, resting against his shoulder.

Again, he stiffened a little. He desperately wanted to shy away from it, but he sort of froze as an insidious thought ran its way through his brain. In some way, it reminded him of the old them. At the same time, it didn't carry the same carefree feeling that it used to. And it didn't feel right either, serving to make him more uncomfortable than anything. It was an aspect of his life that he desperately wanted to forget about. The son of the sea tilted his head a little to look up at the moon, noting that it seemed a little duller today, but he imagined it was just the situation he was in. Honestly, he sort of wished the moon goddess would swoop in and save him as she usually did.

"I'm sorry." It was soft, but he heard it easily enough, causing him to recoil a bit. That certainly hadn't been what he'd expected from the girl. If anything, it was one of the last things on the list.

"For?"

"A lot of things," Annabeth's voice was weak, reminding him of himself a few months back, "I was horrible to you."

He sucked in a quiet breath as he struggled to find the right words. In the end, his response was clipped and it seemed like she knew that. He certainly did, "Not really."

"Don't be that way, Percy," she murmured, shifting but not bringing her head up from him at all, "You know I was. Everyone could see it."

He half-shrugged on account of the girl leaning into him, "I don't hold it against you."

Her eyes stared up at him, still keeping her head firmly against his arm, "How?"

"We were kids," he said simply, "Can't really fault you for not being perfect. Towards the end of it all, things were a bit rough, but for the vast majority, we were pretty good together. And I wasn't perfect either. Gods know I had my own host of issues."

"You were doing the best you could."

"I think we both were," His voice was soft. He felt a bit of wetness on his shoulder and assumed she was crying. A small look confirmed it, "I don't blame you, and I'm not mad. I'm sort of past it now."

"You were mad," she disagreed before stopping. He detected a hint of anger as she spoke? "Just not with me. And maybe you still are."

He let out a quick breath, "Fair enough. But that's not really your fault so don't beat yourself up about it."

"Isn't it?" she asked him, finally turning to him just a little. While she was still leaning on him, she'd lifted her head off his shoulder so that she could look at him in full. "I put us in that mess, and I was the one who continued every argument or fight."

He could feel her shudder against him as he spoke, "You know that's not true. Relationships go two ways. I could have handled those times better."

"But I was the one who didn't hold up my end."

"Happens," Percy's response was clipped again, causing him to wince. As much as he didn't want to be having this conversation, he was stuck with it. A little bit of politeness wouldn't kill him, even if he wanted out of this interaction as soon as possible, "We didn't work out. All there is to it. No reason to feel bad about it now."

"You make it sound as if it was no big deal," Annabeth sighed, "You say it like I didn't yell and scream at you and pick fights or make it seem like you were the issue."

"It was a big deal, and I'm not saying you didn't do that stuff. You did," he paused, taking a moment to run a hand through his hair, "But it's in the past. There's not much of a reason to dwell on it at this point, at least for me."

Annabeth frowned at this, "You're making it seem like it's a small thing."

"Isn't it?" Percy asked quietly, "We were forced into growing up faster than we should have. Our relationship was rushed and we weren't ready. I'm not saying to forget about it, but we both know nothing good will come from holding on to everything."

"And yet we do."

"Yeah. Or I used to anyway." Truth be told, he'd sort of stopped thinking about her in the past months. Sure, she'd pop up in his mind every so often when something specific reminded him of her, but generally, he'd go days to weeks without thinking about her. Honestly, he had better things to do than dwell on the past.

She turned to look at him in surprise, "Really?"

He nodded before sucking in a quick breath and turning to look at the daughter of Athena. As much as he didn't even want to look at the girl next to him, it would be the clearest way of getting his point across, "No offense, but we wouldn't work out anymore. Maybe before everything, but not now."

"You really think that's true?"

Percy shifted, fingers drumming away against the stone, "Yeah. I think there was a time that we could have made it work, but that was years ago and I think we've grown as people."

She attempted a weak smile but it died as soon as it came, "You really think that I've grown?"

"I mean, yeah?" Percy gestured out towards their surroundings, calling attention to some of the newer additions to Olympus, "You know I don't know much about architecture in general, but I do know your style. If that doesn't show some sort of growth, I don't know what does because it was a pretty drastic change."

"Did you really notice?"

Percy couldn't help but roll his eyes, "No I just made that up."

She gave him a small smile, but he didn't see it, "Guess I walked into that one."

"Sort of," Percy shrugged, "But we've definitely grown as people. And we were already growing apart, so I don't really see us working out like that."

"Yeah."

"You seem sad."

"A little," she said honestly, pulling away from him, "What happened to us?"

He chuckled, but it wasn't the happy sort, "I'd say we grew up but I don't think that's right. Maybe it was just everything catching up to us."

"I thought we'd end up together after everything." That surprised him since she'd been the person to break things off between the two of them.

"Really?"

"Yeah. But then I got scared."

"Of what?"

"I realized I was bad for you."

"Why do you say that?"

"You turned down immortality for me. Twice. And you were only doing what I wanted anyway, giving up all your dreams. You wanted to do all these things like go to school or travel and you didn't because I was going to be on Olympus." she said sadly, "You've always been like that. Looking out for everyone but yourself. And I couldn't help you either after everything. You know I secretly hated that you seemed like you were doing so well? I'd thought that we'd feel the same but you always looked like you had such a good handle on it. I'd see you and all I could see was the pit and I just…"

She trailed off for a moment before taking a deep breath and starting again, "I couldn't sleep. Or eat. Or do anything. And you were so… okay. You'd laugh and sit with everyone like you used to. And at some point I started taking it out on you even though I knew it wasn't the case. You were putting on this strong act for me and I couldn't do the same for you and I hated it. And it was so easy to do it too. You wouldn't even really fight back and sometimes it just made me angrier. It felt like you were so collected. And as bad as it is, I sort of wanted you to be hurting with me."

Another pause, "I know it doesn't make up for it, but I'm sorry for how I treated you. I-I couldn't handle it and you were just the closest person to me and I lashed out at you even though you didn't deserve it and then I even blamed you for it."

He let out a shallow breath as he clenched a bit of fabric in his hand, squeezing it till his knuckles were white. Some part of him was happy to know that he hadn't been imagining those things, that he hadn't been wrong for wanting an apology that he thought would never come, but even now, the pain of it was still there. That same angry voice told him that it was nearly four years late, saying that it was too little too late but the rational part of him fought back. As he saw it, it was happening, and that was what mattered. It would have been nicer if it had happened sooner, before he'd been hurt so badly, but it was better than nothing, "You know I never thought I'd hear you admit all of that?"

The daughter of Athena sighed, her voice quiet, "I didn't either. For years I was convinced that it was somehow something you'd done, that I was in the right and that I was being wronged somehow. And you never argued back when I said it either."

He laughed mirthlessly, "I thought I was in the wrong for it. Thought I'd done something to deserve it."

She sighed, "I know. And I'm sorry. You were better than I deserved and I pushed you away and you never even fought back."

He wrung his hands a little, trying to fight back the flood of emotion as he recalled a particularly bad night, "I didn't think it'd get us anywhere. And don't say that. You deserve someone who can take care of you. And as much as it hurt me at the time, I know I wasn't that person. I had too many of my own issues to help."

"You're doing it again," she said softly, "You're making it seem like it's your fault."

"Disagree," Percy said firmly, forcing himself to unclench his hand, "I'm just acknowledging my own issues. I didn't say I made you do it, or that you had no part. Just that I wasn't there for you because I had my own shit to deal with."

"And I know just as well that you're going to beat yourself up about it," Annabeth retorted, "It's who you are."

"I guess so," Percy's eyes were dull as he regarded the stone tiling of the floor, "But it'll be okay now. Or it's going to be."

"You really think this is how we were supposed to end up?"

Her eyes were watery as she looked up at him. He took a quick breath before responding, "I don't think we were supposed to end up any particular way. It came down to us."

"And we didn't work out."

"Yeah," his voice was soft, "But that's not a bad thing. It was going to happen sooner or later."

"You think so?"

"We were, and are, too different," he said honestly, "It's like you're the shore and I'm the sea."

Annabeth looked confused for a moment, "And they work together to create something beautiful so I fail to see the problem with that. You love the beach."

"Maybe they do," Percy said, "But one chips away at the other, taking it and breaking it apart. One of us is constantly in motion. I've always been the sort to change as it pleases me, or do whatever in my own way. You were always a bit more structured. You wanted to settle down somewhere and live out our lives with consistency and I wanted to be free to do whatever. Personally, I just think they aren't compatible."

"And who says we couldn't have changed for each other?"

"Would we really have been us after changing that much?"

She sighed before smiling softly, "You always were a hopeless romantic. I see you haven't lost the melodramatics."

He laughed quietly, feeling a bit better for the first time, "Guess so. You were always the practical one."

"You'd plan some fantastical date and I'd worry about the logistics."

"But I'd lose track of it all and you'd pull it back together."

"We're good partners," she said simply, "But I think you're right. We clash too much."

"Often am," he couldn't stop himself from joking.

"Oh shut up," she smiled, "As much as it pains me to admit it, you do have a decent point."

"First time for everything, right?" he shrugged. She glanced at him again before hugging him. He stiffened a little but accepted it after a moment, distinctly aware of her tears as she pulled away.

"I should get out of your hair," she said, pulling away to stand up, "I'm glad we talked."

"Me too," he agreed as he watched her start to walk, "Make sure to stop by sometime though. Everyone misses you."

"Yeah. I'll try" And with that, she was gone after a quick look over her shoulder, leaving the son of the sea alone. And strangely, he didn't mind at all. Some of the tension in his shoulders left his body as he stared up at the moon. Well, he hadn't expected that at all. He replayed the conversation in his mind as he sat alone. Despite it all, he was doping okay. Tired, a bit unsure, but alright. In a weird way, things had worked out. He was still confused why she'd tried to seek him out, but he didn't exactly mind. It was good to clear the air between the two of them. It was, after all, their longest conversation in two years. They'd sat together for nearly an hour judging by the moon and he had no idea how long he'd been sitting alone in the garden.

It was a good thing that nobody ever came around here. What would they even think? Honestly though, that didn't matter too much to him. The results of the night had been good enough. Sure, he hadn't wanted to come to this big party, but something good had come from it. They'd rekindled… something. He wasn't sure what they were. It was too soon to call them friends, but they weren't strangers either. And he was okay with that because it was better than what they had been. Sure, he wouldn't have minded trying friendship again, but at this point, he was just plain tired.

Half a year ago, he would have been a mess. And even still, the savior of Olympus was still sort of a mess, but he'd done better than he could have hoped to anyway. Point was, it was nice to see progress, even if it was small. And, he had to laugh at himself a little. The sea and the shore? What was he on about with that? It was a funny way of putting it, even if it did feel like he was waxing poetic. Then again, as Annabeth had said, he always had been the silly romantic one between the two of them, if a bit dramatic.

It was strange to think that she seemed wistful. He wouldn't say that he didn't look at some aspects of their relationships fondly, but it wasn't anything he'd ever go back to. Maybe he'd been imagining it, but it'd sounded like she was the opposite. Maybe it was less about him and more about the good times they spent together though. As he had come to learn, the concept of someone was often different in practice. The gods knew he'd thought about that on a number of occasions.

"I trust that you are alright?" the voice was tinged with concern. At some point, the moon goddess had come to stand in front of him, arms crossed as she regarded him. He hadn't even noticed as she replaced the moon in his view, and he'd just continued to stare at her without even noticing.

He flushed a little, "How long have you been standing there?"

"A few minutes," she said simply, offering him a hand, "something is on your mind"

"A bit," he replied honestly as he took her hand.

"About the daughter of Athena, I take it?"

"You saw what happened then?" he asked curiously.

"I did," she replied simply, not saying anything more.

"What all did you hear?"

"Not much," she responded honestly, taking a seat next to him, "I did not intend to intrude but I noticed that she did look quite comfortable with you."

Percy rubbed the back of his head awkwardly as the goddess looked on in interest, "Yeah it was a little weird. Didn't know how to feel about it at first."

"You are not happy?" she tapped a finger idly against the stone border of the fountain.

"It's not that," he started, struggling to find the words, "It was just hard to talk to her. First full conversation in years and it was sort of just sprung on me, not that it really would have mattered. I don't think I was emotionally ready to handle it quite yet, but it ended up fine anyway so I probably shouldn't complain."

The goddess paused, "Then you have reconciled?"

He shook his head, "Sort of maybe? Not really sure. We sort of approached the idea of getting back together, but I'm not sure how to feel and I don't think it'd work out even if I did want it."

Artemis regarded him with an indiscernible look, "Was that not the outcome?"

Percy was confused, "Of what?"

"That you are going to continue your relationship where it ended?"

He chuckled, letting his hand trace a circle on the marble of the fountain, "Definitely not. I don't think we're even friends at the moment, and even if we were, I'm not really looking for anything like that. Especially not with her either, no offense."

"I see," he couldn't quite tell what the moon goddess was feeling, or thinking for that matter, but he was certain that she had something on her mind, "Are you happy?"

"About what?"

"About your relationship." That was an odd question.

"I don't really have feelings about it either way. Guess it depends on what you mean. I'm happy that we talked, and I'm happy with the outcome but I could have done without all the relationship stuff. I kinda embarrassed myself."

"Oh?" Artemis perked up at a potential chance to tease her friend, "Do tell."

"As long as you promise not to tell Apollo." She looked curious for a moment but quickly agreed. Percy continued, "I said some poetic bullshit that would have made your brother's worst look like a masterpiece."

She definitely looked interested in that, "Go on."

Percy rubbed his neck as he spoke, "I may have said something about her being the shore and me being the sea in the sense that I'm a free spirit and go with the flow and do whatever I please because I hate being restrained and tied down in one place or job and because she always wanted to settle down and have a stable life and leave her 'mark' on the world that would last forever and it was just an awful analogy."

He was fully aware that he was rambling, as evidenced by his awkward stance and the healthy blush coating his face as Artemis laughed. Percy continued, "But to be fair, she did agree with me. And said I was a romantic, which is true enough."

The moon goddess smiled at him, "How cute. I am sure that you'd melt hearts if you said that to someone else."

"Really?" Percy was confused by this, "You think it was good?"

"No," the goddess replied instantly, smiling as the young man grumbled, "But, it was cute in an awkward way."

Percy groaned, "Not a word to this about anyone."

"Maybe," she grinned, "It depends on if you behave."

Percy rolled his eyes before playfully bowing, "As you wish my Lady."

The goddess's mood seemed to leaven as she laughed, "Aside from your awful attempts at poetry, I take it your conversation went well?"

Percy looked thoughtful for a second, "I think so. We're not friends again yet, but we're better than we were."

"And that satisfies you?" she asked him, curiosity evident in her voice, even as her eyes shone with a strange look.

"I guess? I'm glad to have talked to her, even if we aren't friends again. It was good to clear the air between us. And it makes gatherings a little less annoying since I don't have to worry about her asshole boyfriend."

"Zelus was it?" Percy nodded in confirmation, having learned his name less than an hour ago, "I recall the distinct displeasure of interacting with him several months ago."

Percy smiled at that, "Other than that little mishap, it was a good night."

"You think so?"

"Definitely," Percy reaffirmed, "I consider that the start of us really becoming friends."

"Then I must agree," Artemis said simply as they ambled down the empty street, "now I take it that you are eager to get home?"

"I don't mind staying a bit longer if you want," Percy said, casually lacing his fingers together behind his head.

"I am asking what you want," Artemis said dryly. Percy could tell that she didn't really mind though.

"Let's stay for a bit."

"Then let us find my brother," she smiled inwardly as Percy stared at her blankly.

"You're kidding, right?"

So interesting chapter. At the time of writing, I'd had this idea on my mind for a while. It's fast, and it comes out of nowhere, but I intended for it to be that way since we haven't really heard from Annabeth at all. They've kept in touch a little which I made sure to mention in the past, but it's still very random. I wanted this chapter to reflect that in the way that both the reader and Percy feel. I had fun writing it, and I hope some of the underlying feelings come through. Anyway, happy reading.

To Hippie Painter, Aether27, and PhantomFuryJP: Thanks for reading! Love to hear that you guys are enjoying. Makes writing worth it. To TomorrowCarpe Diem: Thanks! I thought it'd be a good way to showcase a relaxed scene while showing how Artemis and Percy handle things while on the move. To CommanderDuck14: Tons of fun to write, glad you enjoyed! To TheFiction101: Always good to hear from you, and I'm glad. That was the intention! Smiled while writing it. To Tri-Edge: Glad you did. It was tons of fun to write, and I'm trying to really flesh out the characters. Always good to hear from you. To The Dark Sapphire: You've read my mind. There's some of that coming up a few chapters from now. To Icefire99: Always great to hear from you, and I'm glad you enjoy. It was definitely one of my favorite chapters to write. To The ultimite deity: Glad you're enjoying and good to have you. I really wanted a more relaxed one of these stories that's more character driven than anything so I wrote it. To Gonzalj: Glad you're enjoying and I love to hear it. The mental health aspect is one that I didn't really see touched on and something that I feel makes the characters a little more interesting while helping readers feel seen and understood. Part of the reason I write Percy the way I do. And to oneizm: I aim to please. Anyway, I totally agree since I always distract myself by reading other stuff then coming back. And definitely agree on the gods thing. It's something I don't see a lot of people talk about or do and I find that Aph definitely gets characterized as a bit of a colorless bimbo which I feel is the furthest thing from the truth. And, definitely agree about the addressing pain thing, it's happening in the chapters I'm currently writing. It might not come all at once, but it's going to happen. Glad to see you trust me! The ascension thing is something I've got some big plans for. It gives me a lot of opportunities to continue the story in different directions and I'm super excited to write it since I haven't really read any stories that are going to do it like I intend to. There might be some but I just haven't seen them. And again, thank you for the review. Always brings a smile to my face.

Well, happy reading and let me know what you think. It's a bit of a different chapter so I hope you enjoy.