AN: Here it is, the first chapter. Hope this won't disappoint. Bit of a longer chapter than you would be expecting to make up for the time you had to wait but expect the later chapters in the usual 3-4k range. If you haven't read 'Apollyon' make sure to read that first to get a better understanding.
Things to note before you read: Thalia did not encounter Luke or Annabeth while running away, which obviously changes things. She got to camp early '04. Lightning Thief still happened but with Thalia leading the quest and the same with Sea of Monsters.
Also, the last line of the prophecy isn't 'And one shall perish by a parent's hand.' but 'And the one before shall rock the lands.' somewhat shitty but it's what I got. If you got a better one along those lines, hit me up.
Mount Othrys
Zoë, Bianca, and Thalia were fighting Atlas as Annabeth and the son of Poseidon, Corin Jackson fought Luke in the room containing the sky. Artemis couldn't do anything but watch as she was still trapped holding the sky, her arms strained and shook as she tried to ease the pressure off of her shoulders.
"Bianca! Keep thy distance and stick to thy bow!" Zoë ordered as she rolled under her father's javelin and shot another arrow at him. Atlas blocked the arrow with the head of his Javelin and twirled it, stabbing it into where his daughter was moments ago.
Atlas chuckled darkly, "Yes, little demigods. You should know when your end is near." swiping his javelin at Thalia's feet, knocking the demigod off of her feet, and kicked her away roughly. Thalia sluggishly got back to her feet with a wince and tried to get some distance, using her spear to shoot bolts at the Titan.
Zoë flipped over the javelin and smashed her knee right into her father's face and just barely jumped out of the way of his outstretched arm. The Titan wiped the few drops of ichor from his nose and spat, "That almost hurt, daughter." he taunted with a smirk. She slung her bow behind her back and pulled her knives out.
Her knives moved in a flurry as she tried to expose the weak-spots in her father's armor. She slid under Atlas's swing and tried to swipe one of her knives across the back of his knees, but he lifted a leg and almost kicked Zoë into the wall if she didn't roll back in time. The Titan was too caught up in trying to attack his daughter that he forgot about the demigod daughter of Zeus and the daughter of Hades as he suddenly felt two arrows enter his exposed shoulder-blade and a spear go through the back of his lower left leg and right through the shin.
He let out a roar when Thalia pulled the spear out. Spinning his javelin around, he slammed the tip into the ground and released a blast of energy. Thalia quickly covered herself with her shield, but the blast sent her flat on her back, prompting Zoë to quickly run over and help her up.
Atlas would have taken advantage of the moment, but he found himself occupied as a squad of skeleton warriors rose from the ground and started to attack him as well as Bianca's onslaught of arrows.
"Are thou okay?" Zoë quickly asked in concern as Thalia grabbed her outstretched hand to pull herself up.
"My body's gonna hate me later." Thalia commented with a grimace.
"At least thou would be alive when that happens." the huntress replied.
The wave of energy shook the mountain, prompting Luke to quickly turn around while ducking under Corin's trident. "Watch it, you numbskull! You'll get us killed!" he shouted angrily.
"Focus on your own battles, boy!" the Titan yelled back as he rammed his javelin through a skeleton and punted another one down the mountain.
"Trouble in paradise?" Corin quipped, making Luke snarl at him. He raised his trident to block the sword swing from Luke as Annabeth tried to sneak her dagger in between. "Annabeth might not want to hurt you, but I sure as hell don't mind it."
"Luke, why?! We trusted you!" Annabeth yelled, barely leaning back as his sword almost clipped her in the neck. She tried to block all of his strikes but a few slipped through her guard, stinging her arms and legs.
"The gods don't care! They never have and never will! The only way for change to happen is for the Titans to take back what they lost." he argued, kicking Corin in the stomach and throwing an elbow at the side of his head. "Annabeth, there's still a chance for-"
"Enough talking already! Boy, either kill them or leave this to me!" Atlas shouted at him as he grabbed a skeleton soldier by the neck and threw it at Bianca. She let out a yelp as she dove to the side just as the skeleton flew over her. The body crumbled back into a pile of bones once it hit the pillar with a thud.
Zoë quickly nocked an arrow and released it, watching as it clipped Atlas along the side of his face, creating a trail of ichor from the corner of his mouth to his right ear. Thalia followed it up when her eyes glowed. Lightning crackled on her weapons as she let out a shout and slammed her weapons together, making an arc of lightning shoot out and crashed right into Atlas's midsection, sending him into a pillar just as some rubble fell onto him.
Bianca looked at Thalia incredulously, "You couldn't have opened with that?" she questioned in disbelief. She looked at the slightly out-of-breath demigod whose hands were on her knees as she caught her breath, slightly shaking from the energy exerted.
"Well as you can clearly see… It takes a lot out of me." Thalia panted. Her hands trembled slightly as she tightened her grip on her spear and shield.
Luke slashed Corin on his leg, sending him crumbling as he dropped his trident. He was about to end him then and there when Annabeth jumped in front and blocked his sword with her dagger, gritting his teeth in frustration while she held her ground despite the uncertainty in her eyes as her feet started sliding.
He caught the two hunters and Thalia running towards him and quickly broke off the clash by pushing Annabeth to the ground with the flat end of his sword. "J-just think about it. Please." Luke pleaded to her one more time before his gaze narrowed and jumped off the side of the mountain and into the chasm below.
"Damn it!" Thalia exclaimed just as they were an inch away from Luke's falling form. "You two alright?" she looked at Annabeth and Corin, the latter holding his hands over the gash on his leg, while Annabeth improvised a tourniquet using her belt. She quickly apologized as Corin let out a scream as she tightened the tourniquet to prevent any blood loss.
"Come on. We still need to free Lady Artemis from the sky." Annabeth told everyone as she wrapped an arm around Corin's body to help him walk.
"It is not like she is going anywhere." Zoë mumbled underneath her breath. Annabeth and Corin didn't hear her as they were already ahead, but Bianca looked confused at the sudden animosity between her lieutenant and patron goddess while Thalia gave her a look of understanding.
"LOOK OUT!"
A giant piece of debris almost squashed all of them if they each didn't dive out of the way in time, though Annabeth tried to lessen the impact with Corin since he was already injured.
Everyone looked to see where the rock came from and found the smoking form of Atlas. Cuts and scrapes littered his body as he snarled at the questers. He looked at Thalia as he crushed a rock under his foot, "You got some real power in you, daughter of Zeus. I'm sure my lord could use someone of your caliber alongside him and in return, he could give you power beyond your little dreams."
Thalia had a look of disgust when Atlas called her a daughter of Zeus and spat on the ground in front of her, "Yeah, nice try but I'm not falling for it, you bozo. I would much rather die than even share the same space as you." dropping her body behind her shield and raised her spear as she spoke.
A horde of monsters and rogue demigods appeared behind them and almost surrounded the group. A smirk appeared on Atlas's face as he dusted himself off. "A poor choice of words, but that can be arranged." swinging his javelin back and forth, taunting their fate like a pendulum swinging back and forth. "Watch, goddess, as your so-called rescuers face the might of Kronos!" taking a large inhale as he grinned. "The first blood in the new war! Kill them!" he shouted. Artemis couldn't do anything as her body strained under the sky, having to resort to watching them get slaughtered.
Everyone was tense as the questers watched the monsters pounce. Atlas was grinning evilly until he noticed the sky getting darker and watched as the monsters and demigods were almost frozen in place as if time stopped. Even he felt sluggish in his movements. The only ones that weren't the slightest bit affected were the daughter of Zeus and his daughter. The shadows started to sharpen just as he suddenly got flashbacks of a battle long ago.
He tensed as he felt the air get thicker and took a step back as the shadows ejected violently and formed into a point resembling an arrowhead. It whistled through every monster in the room in one continuous motion. The shadow entered silently before it exploded out the back to find its next target. Hordes of monsters were instantly decimated before the eyes of those unaffected by the sudden slowing of time.
The room completely darkened before it let the tiniest sliver of light back in moments later, revealing a sight that had Atlas reeling. The ground around them was littered with yellow powder and the smell of sulfur burned throughout the room, but Atlas was more concerned about the sudden immortal that stood in front of him by the entrance to the room.
The god flared his power in spades and Atlas stumbled back as his eyes widened fearfully before quickly adopting a look of unbridled fury, "Apollyon!" he yelled out, smacking his javelin against a shield he summoned.
Perseus stood in front of them in his armor, his face emotionless as he stared down the Titan. Purple eyes pierced through the shadows in the room as Leviathan appeared in his hand.
"Dad?" Thalia whispered and Zoë snapped her head back towards the god as fast as she could. Her eyes were wide and hopeful as she looked at him.
The weapon of Perseus dangled from his hands and clattered against the armor-plating of his pants.
"Atlas, I see that someone finally freed you of your burden." Perseus spoke, his eyes moving to where Artemis almost-still form was. "Oh, how I will just love putting you back under there." his eyes flickered to where Thalia and Zoë stood before he focused on Atlas again.
He grasped the top of the handle with a pulsing hand, covering the axehead in a shimmering glow.
The Titan let out a deafening shout as he let out a blast of titanic energy at where Perseus stood. The god melted away before the blast could even hit him and appeared behind Atlas with his axe already raised and in motion downwards. Atlas raised his shield and summoned a new javelin as Leviathan collided with a loud boom.
Sidestepping the javelin and the follow-up shield bash, he back-stepped before pressing into Atlas's space, thrusting the handle into his gut. Atlas flipped his javelin in his hands, sweeping Perseus's feet out but failing to tumble the god, let out another blast of energy, blinding Perseus from the intensity before he burst through the light with a deafening shout and rammed Perseus into the wall, dropping Leviathan on the ground.
Ichor dripped from the Titan's broken nose and onto the armor of the Olympian. Perseus hooked his heel against the back of Atlas's leg and yanked, sending the Titan onto his back. He delivered an axe-kick to where his enemy laid a few seconds ago, striking the ground instead when Atlas deftly rolled out.
Perseus blocked a strike to the side with his arm but missed the kick to his side, making him grunt and recoiled back. He ducked an errant elbow and slugged Atlas right across the face and delivered an uppercut from under. Stretching his hand out, Leviathan flew into his palm just as Atlas summoned another javelin.
Thalia and Zoë were both focused on the fight to the point where they almost would have failed to notice a lone demigod try to sneak up on them but was ultimately foiled when a gladius buried itself deep in his chest.
The sound of the gladius being pulled out of the body pulled Zoë and Thalia back and immediately re-brandished their weapons as they turned around, coming face to face with four members of the Gauntlet.
"Centurion Marius?" Zoë said skeptically, fingering the handles of her knives.
"We should really get you two out of here before our lord brings this place down again." Aurelius stated, having to step to the side just as some rocks fell onto his previous position. Keeping his eyes on the Titan and a hand on his weapon like his brothers were currently doing, standing at the ready to leave.
It seemed like Atlas noticed them considering how his eyes narrowed and about to assume his divine form but Perseus quickly waved his left, pulling them into a shadow and away from the fortress, doing the same to the other questers and sending them down from the mountain. Without having the demigods lingering in the background, he assumed his own divine form.
The island
The four centurions of the Gauntlet along with Zoë and Thalia arrived in Perseus's home. The door to the room they were in opened to reveal the other five members of the Gauntlet.
Upon touching the ground, Zoë drew her knives and was prepared to fight when Thalia stood in front of her with her arms raised in an attempt to placate her. "Woah woah! They're friendly!"
"How are thou alive?" Zoë snarled out. "Where were thy men when thy lord was overthrown by his own!" she yelled in anger.
"Our lord put us in slumber after the empire's fall. In our state, we were not able to act unless he, himself, awakened us. We did not know of his downfall until Lord Virtus told us personally a decade ago. Make no mistake. Had we been there, we would have laid our lives down if it meant that Lord Virtus still reigned." Marius stated, his eyes hardened.
Zoë held her tongue and looked around, catching sight out the window and noticed the beach out front, "Where are we?" looking at the centurions and Thalia.
"We're on Grandma Rhea's island. Dad lives here, but we're on the other side." Thalia explained. She grinned and waved her hands, "Hi, Uncle Marius."
At the mention of the Titan queen, Zoë's eyes widened, "Lady Rhea is here?" and Thalia nodded.
"Yep and so is Iapetus." she answered. "Dad usually picks me up from camp after the summer to stay here." she added.
Marius had an exasperated look on his face before returning a grin of his own as he took off his helmet, "Hello, little one." messing up her hair with his hand.
Thalia scrunched her nose, "Not little anymore." she retorted.
Aurelius laughed in the corner, "Perhaps not, but in our eyes, you are still little. Maybe when you and your brother can finally best us in spars, we may reconsider." he offered with a smirk. "And besides, your father still calls you that."
"If you want, we could refer to you as 'princess'. It is the proper title after all." Ignatius replied.
Thalia let out a groan, "Nevermind." and suddenly looked confused. "Wait, were you guys following us?"
Hadrian, the other centurion that accompanied his brothers and lord to Othrys shook his head, "Not initially. The plan was to retrieve you the moment you stepped foot on Olympus but the horde changed the plan. Atlas wouldn't have stopped until you were dead and Lord Virtus just came from Camp Jupiter having picked up your brother moments prior to your fight. The goddess wouldn't have been of any use considering she would have been extremely low on energy from holding the sky" he explained.
Thalia smiled, "Jason's here?"
"I think your brother was training with the dummies before you arrived." Aurelius told her.
Zoë looked at her, "Thou can go visit thy brother if thou wants." watching Thalia shake her head.
"I'll get him when he least expects it. I pretty much see him most of the time. Besides, you don't look too good right now and think of this as more bonding time." Thalia grinned. Zoë let out a short laugh at her response before it turned into a pained grimace and a dry cough escaped her.
Marius looked at his lord's beloved with concern. "Lady Zoë, you're bleeding." pointing to where blood was dripping from her wound down on her side and staining her ruined parka.
The adrenaline finally exited her system as Zoë suddenly wobbled on her feet, "Ladon bite." she mumbled out as she almost lost her balance. She shivered slightly from the poison in her body.
A centurion that helped in extracting them rushed forward and slammed a cube of ambrosia in her hand and she didn't think twice before she shoved it in her mouth, feeling her wound close up and immediately settled herself on a chair to regain her bearings, closing her eyes so the room stopped spinning.
Everyone looked on with bated breath before Zoë dropped her face in her hands and gave them a shaky thumbs-up after a few minutes, "Good work, Caius." Marius complimented with a clap on the back.
"I would rather not watch our lord brood again and we certainly don't know what Lord Virtus would have done if Lady Zoë was suddenly dead before they got to talk." the centurion mentioned.
Thalia gently poked Zoë in the arm, "Zoë, you okay?" she asked in concern.
"Just give me a moment." Zoë replied, lifting a hand off her face to give Thalia a small smile to ease her worry.
"Should we catch Lady Zoë up on prior events? I feel it would be most beneficial while she is in the state she is in." Hadrian offered.
"Thou would be correct. I would much prefer being caught up before he comes." Zoë requested.
Marius nodded quickly, "At once, my lady."
Meanwhile
Back at Othrys
The entire room was thick with power exuding off of the Titan and Olympian as neither one gave ground to the other. The two immortals shifted into their godly heights halfway into the fight, but neither noticed any differences as they continued to batter the other relentlessly.
Atlas quickly huffed a breath as Perseus slammed him into the ground by the neck and rolled to the side to avoid the lethal blow and flipped himself up. Picking up a destroyed pillar, he heaved it at Perseus with an impressive speed, but Perseus's left hand glowed briefly as it made contact with the object, making it disintegrate into a colorless powder.
Leviathan pulsed again as Perseus laid a glowing hand on the bulk of his weapon, charging it as Atlas came up with his javelin raised. Leviathan was brought down, the purple glow exploded out of Leviathan as a dust cloud kicked up in the air, splitting Atlas's weapon in half and created a gash from his sternum to hip in the Titan's armor.
The ground Atlas was standing on moments before was cracked down the middle, rupturing the ground and upheaving whatever tiles that weren't already ruined. His opponent himself was buried underneath a mountain of rubble with one of his legs sticking out at an odd angle the other way and despite it, Perseus yanked the bruised, bleeding, and battered body out.
He yanked Atlas's bruised and battered form up by the throat and dragged him behind the sky.
Flinging Atlas back under the sky, he froze him just before he could collide with Artemis and flashed away without so much as a second glance.
The Island
Perseus appeared in the backyard of his villa, wiping the dust and debris off of him before his armor shifted to a crisp black button-up shirt and grey dress pants, his feet bare as he walked along the grass. He saw the wrestling forms of Thalia and Jason in the living room from the window and the cheering forms of some of his centurions as he stepped onto the patio.
He slid open the back door and none of them noticed him initially, allowing him to join in on the spectating. He leaned against the bar with his arms across his chest, watching his daughter and nephew play-fight on the floor with the members of his Gauntlet cheering them on.
Marius mumbled something underneath his breath and looked up, his eyes going wide as he caught sight of his lord looking on with an eyebrow raised as his eyes flickered down to the two on the floor, an amused grin forming on Perseus's face as Thalia practically laid her bodyweight on Jason, pinning him to the floor as he tried to roll her off but failing as one of his arms was caught under him.
"Who's winning?" Perseus asked as he stepped into the living room.
Everyone but Marius quickly snapped up to the voice, the centurions quickly tried to get in formation and right their armor, while Thalia and Jason looked like deer-in-the-headlights as their eyes were wide and Thalia's hand hovering above Jason's face. She slapped him upside the head quickly as she kept her eyes firmly on her father.
"OW!" Jason yelled out, rubbing the back of his head and smiled sheepishly at his uncle. He let out an oof as Thalia practically used his body as a springboard to launch herself up and ran to the god.
Thalia crossed the short-distance with a smile and crashed herself against Perseus, wrapping her arms around him. "Hey, dad!" looking up at him, grinning. His arms went to embrace her back, rubbing her head in comfort.
He smiled as Thalia tightened her arms around him, "Hi, Thalia. Hi, Jason."
Jason got up with a groan and waved at him with a small grin, "Hey, uncle." speaking as he rubbed his back. "You know, you're actually really heavy." he told Thalia. "Are you just inhaling whatever they serve you at the Greek camp?"
His sister turned around slightly with a glare and flipped him off awkwardly as she was still embraced by Perseus.
"Jason, stop provoking your sister." Perseus chided lightly, but everyone could hear the humor in his voice. He looked over at Jason, "Things at the legion going ok?" not having the chance to ask him before he had to set off for Othrys.
"Uhmm, yeah. Things are pretty tense right now but we have it handled. Octavian's a dick though." Jason revealed to his uncle.
"Right, well, once everything goes over, I'll pay him a visit." he promised, watching Jason grin. The god peered at his centurions with a smirk, "Until then, I'm sure your uncles can find an acceptable substitute."
He turned serious briefly and pulled back slightly to look at Thalia. His brow furrowed as he looked her over. "Are you hurt anywhere?" he inquired with a slightly-worried expression, brushing some hair out of her face to find a small receding bruise on her temple.
Thalia shook her head, "Not really. A little banged up, but Uncle Marius gave me some nectar and ice, but I slipped the ice down Jason's shirt instead." she said proudly.
The god nodded in understanding, "That would explain the wrestling." he said slowly and blinked.
Jason looked offended and prepared to defend himself, "In my defense, it wasn't even one of those cubes. It was in the shape of a ball so it just rolled down!"
Perseus sighed before shaking his head fondly, "Just as long as the both of you are safe and don't overdo it." he quietly said, laying a kiss on the top of her head.
Thalia nodded and pulled back from the hug, "I mean, I got off barely without a scratch. Zoë took it worse if anything."
At the mention of his lover, worry, confusion, and surprise sprung across his face, "What do you mean by that?" he asked with some worry bleeding into his tone.
"Lady Zoë was injured by Ladon during the ascent to Mount Othrys." Marius informed, "Not to worry! We quickly prevented any lasting exposure to the poison." he added upon seeing the furious and worried expression on Perseus's face.
"Sometimes, I just want to chop that damn dragon into pieces." Perseus muttered.
Thalia shook him on the arm, "She wants to see you, dad." pointing at the room where the door to the reading room was closed.
Perseus nodded with slight hesitation and walked to the closed door with slow steps, his hand hovered over the doorknob as he took a deep breath.
"Right, me and Jason will be in the backyard." his daughter told him, dragging her brother by the arm. His centurions nodded at him and followed the teens out to the back.
The sound of the door opening drew Zoë's attention from her spot on the bay window-sill, her mouth agape and eyes wide as the necklace she was twirling between her fingers fell limply on her black tank-top. Her silver parka was tossed on the back of a chair along with her blood-stained long-sleeve on top of it, her boots, and the rest of her gear under it.
Hearing and feeling weren't quite the same as seeing when it came to the person of their affections.
Zoë stared at him as he stood near the doorway, suppressing a sob in her throat and unsure of what he was supposed to do at this moment, he watched her push herself off of the window-sill and crossed the room as she kept her gaze on him. He braced a part of himself as he saw her hand clench like she wanted to strangle him.
Perseus blinked and felt a stinging sensation on his cheek right after, stretching his jaw to relieve the pressure and held a hand to it. He was about to say something when Zoë mashed her lips against his, his arms instinctively going around her waist while hers went around his neck.
The two lovers frantically kissed each other to re-familiarize themselves with each other as they made-up for lost time.
There wasn't a gap of space left between them when she pulled back suddenly and slapped him once more, targeting the other side of his face. He smiled fondly despite the sting as he gently cupped the side of her face with his free hand, "Satisfied?" referring to her intent to deliver bodily-harm.
Zoë looked him up and down before cocking her head to one side, "We'll see." smiling for true in a long while.
A look of pain and regret crossed his face while he looked at her and swiped a stray tear away with the pad of his thumb, "Zoë, I-I'm-" Zoë put a finger on his lips, stopping the words in his mouth.
She looked at him seriously and trailed an arm down to his forearm and squeezed, "Am I still yours?" looking him in the eyes, hope lingered in her chest as she asked. She placed her forehead against his chest and closed her eyes.
He removed his hand from her face and placed two fingers underneath her chin, gently lifting it to meet his eyes. Sincerity was clear in his eyes as he looked at her, trying to convey everything he felt in that moment, "Yes and I am still yours." no deception or lies as he told her. "I told you once that my heart is forever yours and that you are and will always be the only woman to ever hold my affections. No one holds my heart like you do and that statement remains true, my star." using the nickname he gave her all those years ago.
A small smile slowly started to form as her eyes shone with tears, "Good."
Perseus smiled back at her. Leaning his head down slowly, he gently kissed her but still as passionate as the one his lover initiated. Zoë mindlessly started to run her left hand down his chest while keeping her right firmly latched onto the back of his neck, pulling his head as close as she could. On the other hand, Perseus moved his hands back to her waist.
They finally released each other from their lip-lock but remained firmly in each other's embrace as they looked at each other with love and adoration. He moved a hand away from her waist and pulled it behind his back almost as if he was grabbing something from nowhere, she raised an eyebrow and looked up at him, almost wanting to peer around him to see what he was hiding even though a part of her had some idea.
He pulled back at an arm's length and presented an apple to her. Zoë had a glint in her eyes as she took it from him while grinning madly at him. "As if thou had to even ask." she whispered to him through happy tears.
Perseus chuckled and smiled reassuringly, "Just wanted to make sure your answer was the same."
The apple glowed briefly in her hand and soon, in place of the apple, was a band of silver with an amethyst gem in the middle and surrounded by diamonds.
"Better than I thought it would be." Perseus mumbled to himself, but Zoë heard it clearly and shot him a smirk as she examined her new ring. "Well?" he asked as she flipped her hand over repeatedly. He moved behind her, keeping his arms around her waist, and looked over her shoulder as he looked at her ring. She said nothing while turning in his arms before pulling his head down once again so his lips could meet hers.
They were in their own world until someone interrupted their moment.
"Well, it certainly took you long enough." Rhea's teasing voice filtered into the room. The couple broke off to find the Titaness and Iapetus standing in the doorway with Thalia and Jason both leaning behind the doorframe with only their heads poking out.
"So when's the wedding?" Iapetus asked, looking at the newly-engaged couple.
Perseus looked at his fiancée and gave her a nod, "It's up to you, my star." he mumbled lovingly against the side of her head and removed his hands from her waist to hold her's.
She shook her head and squeezed his hand, "I have waited long enough for this moment." she simply said and her fiancé nodded in understanding.
Rhea looked on with a wide smile when her son looked towards her, holding a hand up to stop him from speaking, "Give me an hour and I'll have everything set up." speaking cheerily and steered clear of the children before Iapetus and her cleared the hallway corner and flashed away.
"Looks like mother will be happy." Perseus quietly muttered and rolled his eyes as Zoë let out a small snort. He smirked at her and Zoë looked at him suspiciously, "But then again, so will I when I get to call you my wife." teasing her just as her cheeks turned slightly red. She elbowed him lightly and blew her hair out of her eyes in mock-frustration but couldn't keep the grin off of her face.
Perseus let out a heavy sigh when he saw Thalia and Jason covered in dirt and beckoned them over, "How do you two manage to get this dirty this quickly? You've only been out for a few minutes." he asked as he brushed off Thalia and Jason's clothing with his hands and waved his hand to clear the dirt that covered their trail inside.
"It's almost been an hour, uncle." Jason corrected, making him roll his eyes.
"Right, well, forgive me for not keeping track. I was a little bit preoccupied with something." he replied dryly with a roll of his eyes.
"More like preoccupied with someone." Jason held in his laughter at his sister's remark.
Perseus shook his head good-heartedly and chuckled, "You're lucky I love you two." ruffling their hair with his hands. "Go clean yourselves up and get changed. You know your grandmother is going fret over you two if you show up at the ceremony looking like hooligans."
The duo looked offended that he would even compare them to such and even let out sounds of mock-indignation when he started scooting them out. "And no wrestling or getting dirty!" he shouted after them.
He stretched his neck and let out a sigh of relief and turned around to find Zoë looking at him strangely, making him raise an eyebrow at her expression. "What?" he said, a bit confused at the way she was looking at him.
Zoë shook her head and let out a laugh, "Nothing." taking his hand in hers again. A smile appeared on his face at the familiar contact.
An hour later
Everyone was gathered in a clearing in the forest as they watched Rhea tie a ribbon around the conjoined hands of Perseus and Zoë as they stood on a platform underneath an arch.
The nine members of Virtus's Gauntlet; Aurelius, Marcus, Tiberius, Hadrian, Cassius, Ignatius, Magnus, Darius all stood on the steps on each side with Marius at the helm and next to Lord Virtus.
Titans that aligned with Rhea, Iapetus, and/or Perseus gathered in the front while Lupa and Hecate were both chosen to officially inform both the Roman and Greek minor gods and goddesses of his survival and for them to pass the word along with some other things.
Thalia and Jason stood on their father/uncle's side. The former picked at her dress with a scowl, while the latter stifled a laugh at her expression, earning the ire of his sister.
Perseus and Zoë kept their eyes on each other, each taking in the sight of their partner. Perseus was dressed in a black three-piece suit with a dark purple tie. Zoë had her hair half-pinned and curled on her shoulders with the reclaimed-Anaklusmos as a hairclip. Her attire was a far cry from what she wore as a hunter and even when she was a Hesperide, but this was one of the few times where she didn't complain about the black ankle-length dress that she currently wore.
Rhea finished wrapping the ribbon around their hands and took a step back as she smiled brightly. The tied ribbon shined briefly before it turned into two gold bands that wrapped around Perseus and Zoë's ring fingers.
"I officially pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!" she proclaimed and Perseus wasted no time in swooping his wife up in a passionate kiss that was returned as equally by Zoë.
"I love you." Zoë said quietly with glee once she pulled back and placed her forehead against his.
"I love you too." he replied, equally as happy and carried a wide grin as he cupped the side of her face with his left, leaned in to give her a chaste and sweet kiss before pulling back and looked at the others.
The Moirai flashed in amid the thunderous applause and everyone stopped to eye the three warily and the applause trailed off. Perseus twisted around and appeared unfazed by their entrance, though he did shift his body so he was facing them. "Clotho, Atropos, Lachesis." he greeted in a cautious tone when he noticed them staring at his beloved.
The Fates ignored the looks and gave an indiscernible look at Zoë as their eyes started glowing and threw their arms up, making Zoë get engulfed in light as she stepped back. "All hail Zoë Nightshade, Olympian goddess of stars, constellations, and perseverance! Wife of Perseus Apollyon!" the three exclaimed in sync before the light died down.
The light faded away and Zoë stumbled out and into his arms in a much older-form that almost matched Perseus when he usually appeared in his early thirties, though she still looked breathtaking in his eyes.
"Well… that's certainly something." he teased as his wife looked up at him and mock-glared at him. "But I'm not complaining." adding on as he kissed her on the forehead, bringing a soft smile onto her face.
A few hours later
"Uncle, are you sure you can take them?" Perseus asked again for the fifth time that night as Jason and Thalia stood next to him. Zoë was talking to his mother a few feet away from them and he could've sworn he caught his wife blushing lightly from the corner of his eyes.
"Dadddddd! We'll be fine!" Thalia groaned out exasperatingly.
Perseus looked at her skeptically with an eyebrow raised, "Last time you said that I ended up finding the two of you cliff-diving after you rode the lions and I felt myself age more on that single day than I have my entire life." he retorted lightly.
"Ok fineeee!" Thalia conceded. "But that was only once! And we'll ask you before doing anything like that next time. Plus, Uncle Marius and the others will be with us." pointing at the centurions that were conversing with each other underneath a tree, jostling each other in jest.
He was about to say something when Iapetus interjected, "Nephew, I'll watch them and make sure they don't do anything too extreme." he promised and tried to placate him, but he simply looked at him with doubt.
"Uncle, you were encouraging them." Perseus said flatly.
"Oh, ease up a little, my son. I'd be offended if you thought I couldn't adequately take care of my grandkids." Rhea teased as Zoë and her walked over.
"Yeah, dad. You two should enjoy your honeymoon without having to worry about the two of us." Thalia argued just as Zoë burrowed herself into her husband's side.
"Oh, trust me, I'll always be worried when it comes to the two of you." he stated with a small smile but relented with a heavy sigh and looked at the both of them. "You both have your bags packed for the entire week?" he questioned.
"No need for that. I believe they left some of their clothes and belongings at my place." Rhea said with a wave of her hands, dismissing his concerns.
Perseus looked at Iapetus and was about to speak before the Titan held his hand up, "I will handle the preparation on our end." he said solemnly.
"Ease up, my love." Zoë whispered directly in his ear and rubbed his arm. "Isn't today supposed to be a happy day?" she asked with a small grin.
He gave her his own grin and banished the previous thoughts from his mind, "Oh, trust me. I am very happy with you." squeezing her waist to emphasize the point.
"Perhaps you two should retire now." Rhea said, throwing not-so-subtle hints at the couple's way. "Most of the night's events are dying down anyway." she tacked on.
"That would be a good idea." Zoë mentioned to him quietly. Perseus whipped his head down towards her and looked at her strangely.
They looked at each other as if they were speaking to each other until Perseus nodded his head minutes later and kissed her temple. "Alright." and pulled away slightly to pull Thalia and Jason into a hug. "Be good for your grandmother and Iapetus." he muttered quietly.
Jason let out a chortle, "No promises for Thalia, but you can count on me, uncle."
Thalia smacked Jason on the back of his head while resting her head on Perseus's shoulder, "Uh, rude." sticking her tongue out. She looked back with a wide grin at her father, "Bye, dad." releasing herself from his embrace. Looking at Zoë, she waved shortly at her, "Later, Zoë."
Her brother held on just a second longer before pulling away. "Bye, uncle." Jason said more reservedly but still with a grin before it partly fell with confusion as he looked at Zoë, "Do I refer to you as Lady Zoë or…" he trailed off, slightly unsure.
Zoë seemed to understand his uncertainty and held a hand up, "Zoë is fine for most cases." she answered.
The god shook his head with a fond smile before returning to his wife's side, "Ready to go?" asking softly and looking at Zoë, who started twirling Anaklusmos between her fingers before putting it back into her hair as a hairclip and nodded at him.
"Of course." grabbing his right hand and letting her husband take them away in a flash just as she waved goodbye.
The two of them reappeared in what was now their bedroom in their villa. Zoë tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and looked at her heeled sandals nervously while Perseus held her hands.
"Are you feeling okay?" tilting her head up gently to meet his concerned gaze. Smiling at him while slipping her sandals off, she gently laid her palms on his chest to calm him.
"Yeah, I am. I'm just taking it all in now." she said, a part of her still in disbelief before she looked up at him with a grin, "Husband." snaking his jacket off of him as she whispered that near his ear.
Hearing her say that sent pleasant shivers throughout his body, something his wife noticed and let out a small laugh at his reaction. "My wife." he whispered and captured her lips with his.
He let himself be pushed onto the bed as the back of his knees hit the edge when they shuffled along the ground. Zoë straddled his lap as he laid back on the bed, his hands going no lower than her hips despite their new relationship status.
"Zoë, do you want me to stop?" he asked breathlessly when he got a moment's respite. "It's okay if you want to." years of being without him gave her time to think about how she wanted to move forward once Perseus returned to her, her mind being made up the moment she laid eyes on him after so long.
She hovered above him and slowly regained her breath, shaking her head. "I don't want you to. I trust you." delving back in with her lips before she could hear her husband's reply. Her fingers made quick work of the buttons on Perseus's shirt and tie, yanking the article of clothing out from under his body the moment his arms were free. She bared her neck to him just as she kissed along his jaw, trying to hide her satisfaction when her love failed to stifle his moan before she felt the favor being returned to her.
She pulled back momentarily to start shrugging the straps of her dress off without breaking away from him, kicking it away as Perseus helped her slide the rest of it off. Leaving her in her undergarments, she couldn't help but blush in her state and rubbed her arms nervously.
She let out a yelp as she suddenly found herself laying underneath her husband, her hair fanned out on the pillow from the abrupt movement. The sound of their slightly heavy breathing was the only thing that they could hear as they stared at each other.
Perseus raised his hand and cupped her cheek, looking down at her with unbridled affection, care, and tenderness. He leaned down to kiss her reassuringly, pulling back with a small smile, "You're beautiful. You always have been that to me and I'll spend forever to make up for the time lost between us."
Zoë blinked at him before she smirked lightly, "You damn well better." she said just as she yanked him back down so they could continue what they started.
AN: Right, first chapter is done and dusted. Second chapter will have the council meeting with the Olympians as a flashback then we'll pick up from where this chapter ended off.