Disclaimer: i dont own pjo

Chapter is a bit shorter than usual, sorry.

T-T

"HAAAAAAAH!"

A lou scream startled a golden-haired god out of his chair and onto the ground. The thin plastic of his glasses clanked on the ground, falling a small distance away from him.

Recomposing himself within seconds, Apollo said in a hushed tone but clear tone, "PIPE DOWN."

Picking up the glasses of the ground, he pulled out a handkerchief from his breast pocket to clean the dirt from it. The glasses, of course, were completely unnecessary. He had no sight problems and could have 20/20 vision at will, rendering the point of glasses utterly useless.

However, in addition to his white coat, the glasses made Apollo look like your typical professional doctor that fact alone completely justified wearing a light ornament on his face.

"So, you're finally awake?"

Pressing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, reflecting a blinding flash, obscuring his eyes entirely, Apollo stood over the confused god of war.

For such a muscle-brained individual, it was uncharacteristic for him to be silent after being yelled at. Ares was not the type of person to lie down and take insults. He was the type of person to resort to fists if he did not win the verbal exchange and preferred to escalate the situation rather than cool down.

Apollo was fully prepared for an argument and was about to follow up on his words when he realized that Ares heeded his words for once. After two years of unconsciousness, the fight that he had with that unknown person seemed like it finally did something to Ares's brain.

The poor guy.

Ever since his dearest sister never bothered to explain the situation and proceeded to dump the responsibility of taking care of Ares onto him, Apollo's refused to ask any further on the matter because he didn't want to know anyways.

Besides, two years not a lot of time to a god, and it passed by in the blink of an eye. Apollo still did not know that whole situation and was too prideful to ask her after such a long time. He assumed that Ares had done something to Artemis, forcing her hand and turning him into the mess he was in.

Ares' guts were admirable, but whatever he did must've been extremely stupid. To incur his sister's wrath, he must've had some sort of death wish, especially knowing what her temperament is like. It didn't take much except for a few screws loose in the head to intentionally provoke that sort of monster.

Apollo pitifully shook his head, labeling the god of war as a truly unfortunate fellow. It seemed that Ares lost a bit of his memories, given his shift in demeanor, but it shouldn't be anything permanent.

He was a god after all, a major god. Given enough time, the body of a major god had the ability to regenerate its to its pristine condition, physically and mentally, therefore there shouldn't be anything to worry about. With Apollo's understanding, Ares' personality would eventually revert back.

There was a frown on his face, seemingly thinking of something.

In the calm tone, Apollo asked, "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Why should I tell you? You look like a prick."

A vein appeared on the doctor's forehead. Apollo took back everything he thought about Ares. Whatever Ares did, he deserved it with a hundred percent certainty.

It wasn't very doctor-like of him to think that way. But if he wasn't a doctor, Apollo would give him a round two.

Even though Ares seemed to have some missing memories, it did not get rid of his rough language and fowl attitude. Those definitely remained.

Taking a deep breath, Apollo didn't know why he was getting so worked up over Ares of all people. It wasn't like he hadn't dealt with Ares before. Maybe, he thought this Ares would actually be accommodating for once.

"I'm here to help you. I'm not your enemy."

"Listen pal, don't talk to me like I'm your friend. It makes me want to punch your goofy face."

"That's fine. You have that right," his blue eyes stared directly into blazing red ones, "but, I am here to help you."

Perhaps sensing the sincerity in this "stranger's" words, Ares clicked his tongue and looked away. "Whatever man."

"Are you fine with me asking some questions?"

"Che. Whatever man."

Pulling out a clipboard, it seemed that Apollo intended on doing just that, asking questions.

T-T

Artemis let out a long sigh, which was heard by her mother.

"Dear? What's wrong?"

The moon goddess shuffled in place, not knowing whether or not to say the words in her head. But, she ultimately decided to take a shot in the dark. "Mother, what does love feel like?"

The titan's expression was stunned, clearly not expecting those words to come from her daughter's mouth. Even though she was caught off guard, she did not lose her composure.

A smile bloomed on her face as she said, "Love is not something I can describe, but something that you have to define with your own feelings."

Artemis's face didn't display anything, but Leto felt that her daughter was somewhat dissatisfied with the answer she gave. She could sense an embarrassment emanating from her daughter, the tips of her earlobes were tinted in a rosy hue, barely visible through the warm lights of the sun. Leto ruffled her daughter's hair and playfully asked, "Since when were you interested in such things? I thought you hated when I talked about that topic."

"I never- It's not about me. I'm asking for one of my girls," Artemis added, "Because she felt interested in someone."

Leto didn't believe that poor excuse, but she decided to play along with this "imaginary" situation. In her mind, she already had an idea of a certain someone her daughter was with the last time Leto saw her.

"One of your girls?" she asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. "How interested?" Leto didn't question the validity of this "girl" as it could make Artemis more defensive and to hesitate saying what was on her mind. She wanted her Artemis to feel as comfortable as possible to help her organize her thoughts for one of her "girls".

She didn't want to remind her daughter of the fact that Artemis had prohibited relationships with men, which could potentially end the conversation. That was something she didn't want since it was rare for Artemis to bring up the conversation by her own volition.

Rare couldn't completely give justice to how little Artemis talked about love. Of course, Leto would love Artemis regardless of her view of men and with whatever decision she made. However, that did not mean the titaness couldn't long to have a girl talk with her baby dearest.

"Well... It's like she can't stop thinking about hi- them. And, it feels as though she is always comfortable around them and could depend on them."

"So~, do you think that's problem?"

"... It could be."

Leto innocently tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean, it could be."

"She swore that she'd never. She promised herself that she would never be in a relationship with a man. And he. He too feels similar in that way."

"He doesn't want to be in a relationship, either?"

Leto continued, "Relationships are a two-way street. You cannot have one side without the other side reciprocating their feelings, otherwise that wouldn't truly be a relationship. And, it seems to me like this "girl" isn't looking at it from his perspective."

That sentence struck her like a lightning bolt. Inwardly, Artemis was shook because Leto was right. She never once thought about their relationship from his point of view.

What would happen if he no longer wanted to be her guardian?

How he could just leave if he chose to.

And the time they spent together would be all for naught. She recalled her father's words about learning something from the male.

All this time, she was only thinking about herself, teaching him something. He was like a sponge, taking up all of the information without a single complaint.

What had she done?

Nothing. She felt like the same person that she was before he was summoned.

Nothing changed.

...

Did it?

Artemis continued to listen to her mothers words.

"Did she notice how he was reacting when they spent time together? Because she could looking through rose-tinted lenses and could be manipulated by her feelings to properly understand the relationship they have."

"Impossible."

There was no way she was looking through rose-tinted lenses. He was not the manipulative type, and he was more of a silent and caring type. If there was anything manipulative, it would be the way he avoided making her worried, which annoyed her a lot.

But, she did agree that their relationship was rather vague with no clear boundaries.

"He isn't the manipulative type, from what she said."

"That's good, then. The only thing that I would advise her about is not to think about it too much. Relationships are about the emotions, not the logic. Feelings are what make us human, what make us, us. Not to say logic is unnecessary. It just keeps you on the right track because ultimately this relationship is for you. It's not for your friend. Not your father. Not for your brother. It's for you, and whether or not this relationship is good for you."

The last part seemed to be directed to Artemis specifically, but the moon goddess didn't seem to notice.

Her words caused a surge of memories to flood into Artemis' mind. Artemis was busy reminiscing the time she spent with her guardian.

A comfortable silence, neither of them speaking a word, yet enjoying the other's company. Hunting monsters together with a strange compatibility. Holding hands, sharing a small moment, it felt wrong, hiding from other people, but it felt so right. A close accident, where their lips were close, eyes deliberating and watching, yet never touching.

The last moment caused her heart to unknowingly throb. It was a subtle pain that she didn't know the reason for, and it was something that stirred her very being.

Why did she feel that way?

Why was her heart acting so?

Why was she thinking about a man?

Why did she crave his touch?

Why did she attracted to him?

Why did those feelings keep coming?

Why did they seem so unstoppable?

Like a single drop causing ripples in a still pond, Leto's next words answered all the Whys she could ever have. "But, it's okay to be selfish and want something, where you don't have to think about what's happening. Love isn't simple that could be explained in a few words because in reality that's not how that works. Emotions are a fickle thing and sometimes it is better to do rather than dwell on them. That's what makes us human."

For the first time in her life, she had a desire. A burning desire that she could not smother even if she tried her hardest to.

Artemis must've had a strange expression on her face because her mother asked, "Artemis, is there something wrong?"

"No. It's nothing," she said with the corner of her mouth raised ever so slightly.

Saying those words lifted a weight from her heart. It felt like the shackles tying her in place slipped themselves off on their own, like they were never the right size to begin with.

"It seems that you came to your own conclusion. If I'm not mistaken?"

"You might be. Because, I have no idea what you're talking about."

In Leto's eyes, it seemed that Artemis was affirming the feelings in her heart and decided not to say anything about that. "Artemis dear?" Leto said in a very soft and motherly manner, "Could help your mother with the flowers? They seem to be wilting."

"Ah. Okay." The sudden change of tone was unexpected, but it was something that Artemis quickly accepted.

Artemis thought about particular someone while helping her mother.