AN: I was out of ideas for this chapter, no thanks to you guys, but the gaming beaver finally came to my rescue! I think I'm a fully grown man child, too. Every palaeontologist is, in a sense. Also, I have revisited all the chapters, and given everyone more realistic titties. You might want to check that out. Damn it, but this one is better. Aphrodite is still there.

Time: The Day After Their Tattoos

"Damn, this car is nice," Rachel commented, running her delicate fingers along the smooth, black carbon.

They were in Percy's new supercar, as he weaved through the surprisingly sparsely populated highway leading to the Nowheresville Nature, Sciences and Arts Museum.

Or perhaps, it was not so sparsely populated, after all, Rachel thought as she looked with increasing trepidation at the rapidly approaching traffic.

Despite its name, born out of the author's laziness, Nowheresville was a sprawling metropolis right in the heart of Utah.

It was evening right then. After a quick lunch at Ogygia, Percy had flashed the two of them to a car store, to buy this beauty, before taking them for a long drive with a superfast sports car, easily pushing 150- 200 miles per hour through the deserted deserts of Utah.

The car was a sleek Lamborghini Aventador, a supercar that looked straight out of some sci-fi movie set, that Rachel had only seen in magazines and a few stores. Its vibrant blue colour, reminiscent of the brilliant blue plumage of Hera's prized peacocks, glinted as it zoomed through the dull red of the desert, like some exotic marine predator, like a shark. Perhaps that was what Percy was going for, judging from the livery designs on its sleek chassis- jaws on its hood, and a sleek dorsal fin sticking out of the roof, with sharp lines, supposed to be gills, along the sides. Or she might have come to the decision thanks to the shark bobblehead on the dashboard.

Being an artist herself, though, Rachel had to admit the skill and effort gone behind making Percy's Lamborghini a sleek, shark-themed one. And the results showed- his car was sure to turn heads, and would be right at home in Atlantis.

The seats, smooth and comfortable, expensive black velvet with streaks of the same blue, belonged to the most expensive seats at some movie theatre- it was that comfortable.

Although Rachel could do without the heavy metal blasting through the new, high-quality speakers. Other than that, it was a surprisingly smooth and comfortable journey.

She stared at the glowing dials and buttons, something which she could barely begin to comprehend in her distracted state, just marvelling at its beauty.

"We are here, Nowheresville," Percy spoke softly, toning down the heavy metal a bit as he slowed down, coming to a halt behind the endless line of traffic.

She looked up from the controls, distracted by the twinkling lights of all the cars, and the sprawling, towering metropolis that lay before them.

The starry night sky that she had enjoyed throughout their drive here, was drowned out by the lights of the city. Skyscrapers, looking like they belonged to high-end streets in Las Vegas instead of here, towered over everything else, alive with festive lights, blinking and flashing. The well lit, crowded streets made it look like the entire city was outside, though traffic moved at a remarkable pace. Well lit trees, ponds, gardens and parks were around every corner of this planned city, making Rachel wonder why she had never visited this before. Couples wandered hand in hand through the beautiful, dreamy avenues, flitting from cafe to cafe, wandering through quaint little bookstores and restaurants. The bars and casinos were abuzz with activity, though the majority of the people seemed to flock towards the expansive Museum.

Despite the breathtaking, somewhat serene beauty of the entire city, it made Rachel thankful for the glass separating her from the noxious fumes of the cars before her.

Instead, she turned her gaze to the Dark god humming beside her, tapping a beat on the steering wheel, which had been modified to resemble the smooth placoid scales of... you guessed it, a shark.

Her breath hitched at her proximity to her master, in the driver's seat while she rode shotgun.

Percy whistled, craning his neck in an attempt to look over the chassis of the car in front of them. His sea-green eyes glinted, giving him an even more... angelic look, reflecting the multitude of lights in front of them. Her eyes were drawn to the dark ink of his tattoos, slightly peeking out of his clothes, and the bobbing of his delicious looking Adam's apple. His golden tanned skin glistened, perfectly contrasting the silver of his singular, fang shaped earring. She could hear his dogtags jingling beneath his hoodie somewhere. His messy raven hair, darker than any black she could find on her palette, darker than any night sky she had ever witnessed, invited her to weave her fingers through his messy locks. He was wearing a full-sleeved, plain black hoodie, which, despite being baggy, hugged his toned, sculpted muscles and abs, showing off his lean body. Above skinny black jeans and white Nike sneakers.

"Percy..."

He hummed.

"Are you growing out your hair?"

He finally turned to look at her, shooting her a crooked smirk, "Am I?"

Rachel turned back to the front, trying to hide her rapidly heating cheeks as she fumbled with her purse. Damn him and his sexiness!

"It will look good on you. As long as you just keep a small man bun and don't tie up your top hair. I love the mess." She muttered, ignoring his stupid charm or his lady killing smirk. She still had trouble grasping the idea that she was his date to the occasion!

Although she supposed his decision had more to do with her love for art, making her excitement quell slightly.

Right.

The reason they were heading to the museum in the first place.

Today was the opening ceremony of a new, sea and ocean dedicated wing in the museum. In short, it would be a high-end ball and dinner with all sophisticated, high-class people at the museum, and Rachel could not but feel nervous. What if she messed up somehow?

She felt like slapping herself.

Percy had been given a VIP invitation, courtesy of him being the freaking DIRECTOR of the US Society for Marine Life. That took everybody by surprise.

He was going to give a speech up there with everyone important, and he was looking like a metalhead right off the street.

Although, Rachel was quite a bit self-conscious, wondering why she had been chosen to accompany him. Athena or Angela would have been more at home in a museum. Even Rose or Violet would have been more suited than her, it was ocean-related stuff, after all!

She gave herself another thorough look over, praying to the Dark god beside her that she did not make a complete ass out of herself.

Percy smirked at her as he revved the engine again, having noticed her prayer. He gave her a reassuring wink as the traffic finally started moving again.

She looked good, she had to admit. Aphrodite took her job seriously, and had done an impeccable job, as always.

She was wearing a sea green, strapless dress, the exact shade as Percy's dark eyes, which hugged all her gentle curves perfectly. She had an expensive purse too, forced upon her by the love goddess, and it would likely be left behind in the car.

She took a deep, shuddering breath to calm herself, examining her impeccable, light make-up in the small mirror.

Her red, lush hair was let down, flowing past her shoulders in a gentle cascade of fiery red that contrasted the dark sea green of her dress beautifully. Small, simple gold earrings and a simple gold pendant were her only pieces of jewellery. Her pale, creamy skin practically glowed, making her feel slightly proud, her slight spattering of freckles making her look cute, complete with her button nose. Full pink lips glistened with pink lip gloss. She caught her emerald eyes, slightly lighter than Percy's own, glowing with happiness, looking confident as she tilted the mirror, trying to find any imperfections. Black eyeliner brought out the shine in the bright emeralds that were her eyes.

"We are here." Percy's words jolted her out of her thoughts as he smoothly pulled up at a... fucking red carpet, complete with flashing cameras and the paparazzi and everything.

"No time to back out, my muse." Her cheeks set aflame at his words, Rachel nodded, dropping her purse.

Percy opened his door, letting the futuristic car door open upwards, as he stepped out elegantly, looking much more graceful than anybody else in the entire city, only in his casual attire. He stretched himself to his intimidating full height of six foot five, shooting a small smile at everybody present.

Mentally thanking Calypso's expertise at temporarily suppressing his PTSD with injections and medicine, as the cameras flashed, he dropped the car keys in a waiting guard's hand, before walking around the shark-themed Lamborghini to open the door for his lady.

Taking Rachel's soft palm, and placing a gentle kiss on the back of her palm, he held her hand as she stepped out of the car, following the exact steps Aphrodite had taught her as she smiled at the cameras, giving a short wave.

As Percy held her close, he could feel her rapid heartbeat against his chest, and not looking down at her, whispered, "See, everything's alright."

He was met with no response, as the two completed the small photoshoot, fitting for celebrities. The female population of America seemed to love him for some reason. And judging by his attire, he might as well have been a celebrity.

Having tied his hair into the small man bun that Rachel wanted, but keeping his top crop messy for the girls, he offered her an arm, and the two of them walked into the main atrium of the Museum of Nature, Sciences and Arts... well, more swaggered on Percy's part.

"Percy!" Poseidon's voice boomed through the atrium, making the two of them turn as the sea god weaved through the crowds of mortal VIPs milling about. Behind him, Amphitrite gave a strained smile to the product of her husband's infidelity, making Percy smile cheekily and wave back.

All that Rachel observed was that she was almost as tall as Poseidon, both of them coming up to Percy's chin, the Dark god towering over everyone else.

And Rachel was met by three zooming masses of sea green, black and blue, gasping slightly as she was hugged by three excitable bombs.

"Sis Rachel looks pretty!" The three chorused.

"Rose, Violet, Neo! How did the three of you get here?!"

"Dad flashed us here!" The twins gushed, Neo joining them as Poseidon had been more of a father figure to her than Zeus. Hell, she had never even met Zeus.

And the Little Big Three dragged Rachel away to show her everything they found interesting. Despite being fifteen, they had never grown out of their childishness. Heck, Thalia and Percy were more than 25, but neither of them had grown out of their childishness.

When an exhausted Rachel was pulled back to Percy by the Little Big Three, who had yet to tone down their excitement, they found Percy conversing (read: shamelessly flirting) with two blonde beauties while Poseidon was nowhere to be seen.

The Oracle reattached herself to Percy's side, gasping as she was met with another surprise. "Angela? Athena?"

"Did you think we would pass up on this event?" Angela observed, while Athena merely held up another VIP pass, this one made to her mortal identity.

Percy had been dragged off by the triplet, more like he had run off with them, leaving Rachel in an extremely awkward situation as she tried to diffuse the tense situation.

She flinched when Athena laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, offering her a small smile. "Do not worry, Oracle."

Angela smiled at her from her mother's side. "Yeah, we will have our time with him later. Tonight, he's yours." (Lmao, I was writing this while listening to Unbreakable, and our Tonight's coincided.)

"B- but-"

"No buts, Rachel," she could not believe this supportive person was the bitchy wisdom goddess, "Tonight, we are here only to attend the ball, as other guests. We are nothing but acquaintances. Percy is entirely yours tonight, so make sure to exploit your opportunity." Athena winked.

"Speaking of Percy, here he comes."

"Sup, what're you doing?" Percy asked, shifting to stand beside Rachel as he just barged into their conversation.

Immediately, Athena's warm mask was gone, replaced with cold indifference. "It's none of your business, Perseus."

Rachel kissed his cheek, ignoring the glares from the rest of the female populace, "We were just chatting, Percy."

Percy smiled goofily, "You mind if I steal Rachel away for a bit? We will return before the ceremony starts."

Angela smirked, her grey eyes twinkling. "Use protection, you too."

Making Rachel's face drown in red, while Percy just laughed. Ignoring the sputtering Oracle, the daughter of Athena kissed Percy's cheek, surprising the Dark god as her mother gently kissed his other cheek.

Athena looked away with a golden face, moving to greet someone else without a word. Percy smirked at the flustered wisdom goddess, turning to look at Angela. "You better look after her."

Not waiting for an answer, he grabbed Rachel's hand, whisking her away from the crowds.

The Oracle's melodious laughs rang down the empty hallways of the Museum as she was pulled along by Percy. "Come on, hurry up!"

"Where are you taking me?" She laughed again, following her Dark master.

"Ta-da!" He offered, spreading his arms in a grand gesture.

Rachel gasped as she entered the main art gallery of the Museum, which had been abandoned for the night. The deserted room was all she ever dreamed of, on par with some of the best galleries around the world, making her wonder why she had never visited this place.

"Thank you, Percy." She breathed, moving to softly touch the glass case, gazing, studying the intricate artwork that lay encased.

She gently flitted from exhibit to exhibit, feeling something missing. Her heart ached as she looked at the pictures, feeling the beauty, yet missing something. The life that she saw in the portraits was still there, but no longer did it call to her, as it did. There was a gaping void in her heart, a painful ache in her ribs that made her frown at the alien emotion.

Her brows furrowed in cute confusion, she turned back, seeking out Percy for the answer to her strange dilemma.

Being met with an empty room, she sighed, following the open doors, and her gut instinct to Percy's location.

Of course.

She felt like groaning.

Even a blind person could tell that Percy would be at the prehistory section.

Casting occasional glances at the intricate fossils of creatures long dead, long gone, she made her way to the Dark god, who was hunched over a glass case, examining it intently.

He did not even turn when she came to stand beside him, her soft hand immediately seeking out his larger, rough paw as she glanced at what he was looking at.

"What is this, Percy?" She asked, looking at what looked like some sort of dinosaur skull.

"It's an Allosaurus fragilis skull." His voice was soft, almost reverent, worshipful of this dead skull, giving Rachel the impression that he was in a church, or at least what he saw as a church, and was speaking in hushed tones, afraid of awakening one of these long-dead reptiles.

"Leave them, Percy," Rachel spoke annoyed, tugging him along, ignoring his protests.

After wandering about for a bit aimlessly, the couple found themselves in an empty balcony overlooking the entrance to the Museum.

Rachel sighed, looking out at the great, metropolitan expanse of Nowheresville as Percy leaned on the railing. The wind buffeted them, ruffling their hair and clothes and making Rachel hug herself, feeling slightly chilly. The guests were still showing up, and the two watched them pour into the museum, movie celebrities, journalists, esteemed businessmen and scientists flooding all alike.

"Enjoy yourself, muse?" Percy's voice wafted through the cold night air, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Why are you calling me that?" She asked, ignoring her rapid heartbeat as she looked at the Dark god.

Her Dark god.

Percy smirked, showing off his sharp, glistening canines. Pushing off the railing, he stepped towards Rachel, a predatory grin on his face.

"Because you are mine." It was only too late that Rachel realised that she was pinned between him and the railing. "Mine, and mine alone."

Nobody could find her complaining.

And as Percy's lips met hers in a soul-searing kiss, she knew why she had felt so empty earlier.

As her lips moving in sync with his, her sea-green dress not holding a candle to his dark, sea-green eyes burning with lust, Rachel understood.

She loved Percy Jackson.

Percy kissed her with a burning passion that made her toes curl in pleasure, his lips like an addictive drug as Rachel bathed in ecstasy and affection. She welcomed his wandering hands on her waist and ass, exploring and probing, massaging her soft flesh and smooth skin through the thin fabric of her dress. Her cheeks burned red as she felt her hips snap at his waist, of their own volition, feeling his smirk into their kiss. Her head was pushed back as he roughly devoured her lips and dominated the kiss, his hands entangling and stroking her lush red hair.

When the need to breathe became too much for the mortal of the pair, they broke apart, breathing heavily, with furious blushes adorning their cheeks.

"I love you, Rachel," Percy whispered, making her smile as she needily fisted the black fabric of his hoodie, trying to stay as close to him as possible.

Percy checked his inner clock, shooting her another smile. "The ceremony will start in another few minutes. Just enough time for you to meet somebody."

His words did not exactly register with the Oracle, who was still high on lust and love, feeling like nothing could spoil her mood for the entire evening.

Percy loved her, too.

She finally came to her senses when Percy dragged her back into the prehistory section.

"Who do you want me to meet, Percy?"

He stopped, making her stop behind him. "Rachel, meet my brother from another mother. He's one of the closest members of my family, and one of my first friends. His name is Percy."

She stared at him with humourless emerald eyes, not getting the joke. "Percy, if you seriously dragged me here to make me meet you, then I'm going to kick-"

"No-no!" He clarified, waving his arms. "Percy- my friend Percy, I mean- he's completely real. Look, there he is!"

Rachel stared at the spot he was gesturing to. "There is nobody there, Percy. You have finally cracked, it seems."

He looked annoyed. "No, look! He's standing right there!"

He struck a thinking pose.

"Oh, I always forget that you guys don't think as I do. Percy- my friend, not me, I mean-"

Rachel shot him another glare.

"Percy's an Utahraptor don't-kill-me-I'm-too-hot-and-sexy-to-die!"

AN: Did you get it? Percy the Utahraptor is a 1/3 scale Utahraptor ostrommaysi at the USU Geology Museum.

Keep calm and CR7!! Keep calm and LM10!! (Messi)