Happy Holidays and Happy new year if that's something you celebrate!
Song Recommendation: "High Hopes" by Sweet Pill. I just recently discovered them, but I love their sound. It's amazing, and it's a super chill band to listen to. They're also releasing their sophomore album soon, soon so that's great! It's not music I've had the time to really study yet since I found it this past Saturday, but it's something I could totally see Percy or Artemis just jamming to in the car. That's how I found them after all. Anyway, let me know.
Percy easily ducked a stray swing. He countered just as easily, lopping the cyclops's head clean off. It dissolved into golden dust a moment later, and Percy internally cringed. It was a shame that not all monsters were like Mrs. O'Leary or Tyson. Speaking of Tyson, he should probably visit at some point. Percy almost automatically blocked behind him, slicing deeply into another cyclops.
In other news, there were a lot more than fifty monsters hanging around in the rather spacious, yet dingy basement of the building. Still though, it wasn't anything the four of them couldn't handle. Between the three of them, he wasn't too sure who was in the lead for most kills, but he was certain that the goddess was leagues ahead of them. She was idly spinning her blades around in her hands while surrounded by heaps of golden dust.
Their enemies had stopped approaching her entirely. And, for that matter, she didn't exactly pursue them either though if something was dumb enough to attack her, it was killed almost instantly.
Percy grinned as he sliced through another monster while nimbly avoiding the blade of another. Gods, it'd been a while since he stretched his legs like this. While he tried not to make light of the situation, given how monsters had killed many, many demigods, he couldn't help but enjoy some of it. In a way, it was what he was bred for. It was in his blood, and while he enjoyed the peacefulness of late, he couldn't deny that he quite enjoyed this aspect of hunting monsters.
He made sure to keep tabs on his allies as well, just in case they needed help. They didn't. Still, it was good to make sure everything was going alright. Nico was locked in battle with a few dracaena while Thalia was going toe to toe with some laestrygonians. Percy turned his attention back to the corridor ahead of him, battling his way deeper and deeper into the onslaught of monsters around them. He could hear Thalia taunting one of the monsters off to his left, but he wasn't too focused on it, instead choosing to keep his attention on the newest monster ahead of him.
It was only when a small pack of dog headed monsters with human bodies started to surround him that he stopped fighting towards the end of the room. He couldn't quite recall what they were named. Cyno-somethings? Dog people basically. And coincidentally one of the monster groups that Octavian had tried to use for his own gain or something. Still though, he recalled them being rather formidable warriors. He stood up a bit straighter and twirled his blade around in his hand before launching at the enemy directly in front of him.
While he was often the person to let his enemies have the first move in a spar, he actually much preferred leading on the offensive. The son of the sea planted his foot firmly on the floor and quickly shifted direction. This allowed him to plunge his blade directly into an unsuspecting dog-man. This broke their lines a little as the ones closest to him all sort of stumbled back while the ones farther was forced to move out of the way. Percy grinned, swinging his blade in a small arc, netting another kill and freeing up some space which he happily took.
A few of the closest monsters recovered and began to swing at him, but they were far too slow for it to concern him. He slipped out of the way of one blade while quickly bringing his own up to deflect a hasty downward slash before striking back with a few quick stabs to keep enemies away. One happened to kill, and he quickly dashed into the unexpecting enemies, almost bursting through the cloud of golden dust while swinging his blade with expert precision.
Two more fell before he had to sidestep another strike. That assailant was dealt with quickly. The rest didn't last much longer either, with Percy making short work of the dog people before turning his attention back towards the entrance. He only had a little more to go, and Thalia and Nico had actually managed to get ahead of him while he was locked in combat. They seemed to be doing just fine, but Percy couldn't help but summon a knife. Said knife quickly found itself embedded in the skull of a cyclops Thalia was fighting.
"You're an asshole!" Thalia called out to him, shaking off the momentary shock of seeing her opponent randomly disintegrate.
Percy bound over towards her, grinning wildly as the two turned to face their other enemies, "Should have been faster."
"Yeah right," Thalia skewered another enemy with her spear, "we'll see how you like it then."
"Assuming you can pull it off," Percy grinned, throwing another blade into the nearest monster while stabbing through the one he was fighting while Thalia swung her spear. Small chains of electricity disintegrated several of the nearest baddies and she turned to look smugly at Percy.
"Alright alright that was pretty good," Percy admitted, "but I'm still leading."
"Absolutely not," Thalia shook her head, "I've gotten way more."
"Children children," Nico grinned as he made his way towards them, "both of you can have a turn on the swings."
"Fuck you," Thalia laughed.
"How many more do you think we've got?" Percy asked, gesturing over towards the veritable horde with his blade.
"Dunno," Thalia shrugged, "But I do know this can't be normal."
"Well," Nico pointed over towards the end of the hall, "There is a labyrinth entrance over there."
"How do you know?" Percy asked.
"I can feel it," the Prince of the Underworld shrugged.
"And you couldn't earlier?" Percy asked.
"The Labyrinth is weird," Thalia spoke up, "We had no idea there was one at camp, but it was always there."
"That doesn't answer my question at all," Percy rolled his eyes.
"She's not wrong," Nico agreed with Thalia, "The labyrinth is still weird."
"Fine," Percy relented, turning his attention back to the monsters ahead, "Can we deal with this and move on?"
"We might need to explore the Labyrinth a bit though," Nico pointed out.
"Likely not a good idea without a clear sighted mortal," Thalia shrugged, "We can always come back after we kill everything."
"Not a bad plan," Percy agreed. He took a quick breath before launching himself straight towards the enemy with Nico and Thalia following close behind. His blade danced as he dashed around, wreaking havoc wherever he went. Even as he found himself surrounded, he couldn't help but grin. This was what he was bred for, what he was meant to do. And he was good at it.
Monsters fell to his blade, even as they all charged at him. It didn't matter how many there were. Percy weaved in and out of strikes like water, his very blade an extension of himself. Despite finding himself isolated, he found he had plenty of space. Few monsters were brave enough to face him one on one and that led to him being surrounded in a rather wide circle. So be it.
Percy launched his assault, taking out swathes of enemies with extreme prejudice. It didn't matter if they had a sword, a bow, anything. Even though a few had spears, they were hopelessly outmatched. Percy spun out of the way of one such weapon, shattering it with the flat of his sword before dealing with it's user. The poor monster had no idea what happened before it was sent to reform in Tartarus. The next several enemies suffered much the same fate.
One brave dracaena attacked at his back, thinking he was unguarded and unaware, only to have her blade blocked without looking. Percy hardly spared her a glance as he deflected the blow and cleaved the monsters head clean off. This gave a few of his other enemies pause, unfortunately causing them to meet the same fate. Most of the time, there was hardly a clash of metal before the monster was sent back to reform.
Percy swung his blade in a wide arc, causing many of the closest monsters to either step back, or simply be cut in half. As soon as his blade was done swinging, Percy turned with the blade, allowing him to defend himself with a few well placed thrusts and slashes. It didn't matter that he'd been outnumbered. He'd never been outgunned.
Percy tilted his body to avoid a strike, only to see a silver arrow sprout from the monster's chest. It burst into golden dust and left him face to face with a smiling goddess. Huh. Back to work then.
"So," Thalia yawned as she dropped down onto the couch after entering their suite, "What now?"
"Now nothing," Percy said lazily. The other three seemed to stand around for a little, "We did our job and now we relax for a bit. I, personally, want to take a shower."
"Of course you do," Nico laughed, "Any excuse to sit in hot water."
"Too bad there isn't a hot tub or something," Thalia commented, "Then he could sit there as long as he'd like."
Nico grinned and Thalia's eyes narrowed a little. Percy however, looked quite interested, dropping onto the couch, "Is there?"
"On the roof," Nico shrugged, "But I had a different idea."
"That being?" Thalia asked.
Nico produced a bottle from seemingly nowhere, "Oh, my father happened to offer us this for a job well done."
"He would," Artemis mused, looking at the bottle with mild interest.
"Aren't you underage?" Thalia asked, looking at Nico.
"Technically, I'm the eldest out of the three of us," he pointed out, which nobody could deny.
"Bit ironic that you're the one pointing it out, isn't it?" Percy chuckled as he looked at Thalia.
"I'm surprised you know what irony is," Thalia shot back.
Percy laughed, "Hey, I read."
"Shocker," she snarked, "Now if Nico told me that, I might believe him."
"It's true," Artemis defended him with a smile as she sat down next to Percy, "He has decent taste too."
"Who's side are you on?" Thalia asked accusingly.
Artemis just shrugged as Percy retorted, "Don't speak to your mother that way."
Thalia and Nico looked at each other quickly while the moon goddess smiled a bit wider, choosing to speak again, "I, for one, think Nico's suggestion isn't a bad idea."
Percy nodded in interest, "Down for that."
"Wonderful," Nico said, "Still want to shower?"
Percy nodded, "If you don't mind waiting."
"I wouldn't mind taking one too actually," Thalia admitted, causing Percy and Nico to both grin widely, "not a word from either of you."
They both just laughed for a minute. Eventually though, they did all go their separate ways with both Percy and Thalia making their way towards their rooms. Naturally, Percy took a while in the shower, relishing the feeling of hot water running across his skin. Still, he tried not to sit there for too long. He wouldn't have minded sitting in there for an hour, but the son of the sea had to imagine that his friends might. Instead, he limited himself to a third of that. Not quick, but not too terribly long either.
He took a second to dress himself after willing himself to be dry. They'd been waiting long enough so Percy was willing to sacrifice using a warm towel to dry himself. It didn't take him much longer to rejoin the group. Thalia's hair was still pretty wet and Artemis wasn't even there so he didn't feel too bad.
Nico spoke first, "How much experience do you guys have with this stuff?"
Thalia and Percy both shrugged as Percy dropped down onto the couch across from them with Thalia speaking as he did so, "like in general or with that specific bottle?"
"With Dionysus's stuff in general," Nico qualified.
Percy chose to answer, "None at all. Anything I need to know?"
The Ghost King was going to answer but the sound of a door opening stopped him. Artemis walked out, looking around for a moment before her eyes landed on Percy, "I thought you'd take longer."
Percy shook his head, "Wanted to but I heard there's a hot tub so I'm going to go up there when we're all done here."
The goddess nodded, strolling over towards him and dropping down right next to him, "I'll join you then."
Percy smiled as Nico continued, "Since Percy and I'm assuming Thalia aren't really accustomed to this, we should probably start slow."
Artemis agreed, but Thalia didn't, "Now, hear me out. What if we didn't?"
"Not sure that's a great idea," Percy chuckled, "But, I do like making bad decisions."
"You're supposed to be setting an example," Artemis pointed out.
"I'd agree if one of my kids didn't already have more experience than me."
"How well do you handle normal stuff?" Nico asked.
Artemis answered for him, "I've yet to see him lose control and we haven't exactly been cautious with our pours."
Nico nodded, "And Thalia's going to be out in one anyway so we might as well."
"Hey!" Thalia grumbled indignantly, "I've gotten better."
"Not by much," Artemis said easily, causing Percy to snicker.
"It's not the worst thing to be a lightweight," Nico said, adding something jokingly, "even if I do think a little less of you because of it."
"Alright alright all of you can go straight to hell," Thalia grumbled, "bet I'll outlast Percy at the very least."
Percy glanced at the moon goddess beside him, "I feel like I should be concerned."
"Likely," Artemis agreed.
Nico seconded that before grinning wildly, "Probably, but the real question is, how much are we betting?"
"I'll put thirty on her making it two drinks in before passing out," Percy laughed, summoning a stack of the coins forward.
"Eager to lose more today?" Artemis laughed, "Thirty on my Lieutenant losing it at four."
Nico nodded, "I'm sticking with her making it to one before starting to stumble around "
"Do I get a say in this?" Thalia asked. All three shook their heads, causing the demigoddess to grumble, "Fine. Just pass me a glass."
Glasses were passed around before Nico offered the bottle to the goddess, saying that it was only right that she be the one to open it. Artemis disagreed, but Nico insisted that she was his guest and that his father had specifically offered it because of her. She couldn't quite argue with that, leading her to open it and pour a healthy amount of burgundy liquid into each glass.
Thalia wrinkled her nose as she smelled it, causing Nico to grin, "Having second thoughts?"
"In your dreams," Thalia grinned, raising her glass. The others followed suit, quickly bringing their own glasses up to their lips and taking a healthy swig. Both Thalia and Percy grimaced while Artemis and Nico seemed like they'd enjoyed it.
"Okay," Thalia stopped herself from gagging, "beginning to think I might have made a mistake."
Percy took another sip and grinned, "Just don't think about it. I'm sure it'll start going down easier at some point."
"The solution to not liking drinking is to drink more," Nico pointed out.
"If you want to end up in a ditch, sure," Percy laughed.
Artemis hummed in amusement as she turned to the man beside her, "What do you think?"
"That maybe I don't like wine that much," Percy chuckled, taking another sip, "much rather be having one of those ones you make."
Artemis smiled, "After. We have the entire night after all."
Nico and Thalia watched the two with mild curiosity, occasionally whispering to each other while Percy and Artemis talked. They hardly noticed as they continued to chat away. It was only when the two had both emptied their glasses that they snapped back to reality, much to Nico's amusement. Thalia, meanwhile, looked a little worse for wear as she'd already poured herself another healthy glass.
"You sure you'll be alright?" Percy asked as he snagged the moon goddess's glass and began filling it before tending to his own, "You can stop if you want."
He gently handed the goddess her glass as Thalia responded, "I'm going to win this bet."
Nico shrugged, "If you throw up, don't blame us."
The demigoddess drained a bit more of her cup, "Wouldn't dream of it."
"Good," Artemis smiled, "though if you could take a few steps for us, we would appreciate it."
Percy snickered and Thalia glared at them. That didn't stop her from getting up and taking a few, admittedly, stable steps. Looked like Nico was out of the running. Everyone laughed as she sat down, face flushed a healthy red color.
"She might be worse than Apollo," Percy commented, causing Artemis to laugh.
"Give her a few years and I'm sure she'll end up better than he is," the moon goddess smiled lightly. Said smile only widened as Thalia reached for a third glass. Percy, in an effort to keep up, refilled his after asking if Artemis wanted any. She didn't, but she appreciated the offer nonetheless.
"Might want to slow down just a tad," Nico said chidingly, "you have to outlast Percy, not drink faster than him."
Thalia nodded unsteadily, throwing out an arm to keep herself from tipping over, "Might… be a good idea. If my head hits the couch, I'm falling asleep."
Percy, meanwhile, looked no worse for wear though Artemis could see that he was feeling it given how he was looking around. The son of the sea ended up catching her gaze and smiled widely.
"So," Percy started easily as he leaned back into the couch, "plans for tomorrow. We said we should explore the Labyrinth a bit more, right?"
Nico and Artemis nodded while Thalia stared off blankly at a wall. He continued upon receiving confirmation, "Then that means we should probably pick up Rachel and bring her with us."
"It would be a better plan than running in blindly," Nico agreed, "I can get her in the morning if you let me know when you want to go."
"We could probably go whenever we want," Percy said slowly as he turned to the goddess next to him, "right?"
She agreed, "We cleared out the majority of their forces in the building, but there could always be more hiding around in the Labyrinth. It would be a good idea to handle them, and figure out why they're all working together."
"Okay!" Percy clapped his hands together lightly with a wide grin. This effectively served to snap Thalia back to the land of the living.
"What'd I miss?" The demigoddess asked slowly.
"Just plans for tomorrow," Nico explained, filling up all of their glasses one more time, "which I'm sure you're not going to remember, even if I tell you."
"Correct," Thalia gave him a thumbs up, "has Percy had more than me?"
Artemis shook her head, "About even I'd imagine."
Nico seconded that, "Unfortunately, that does mean Percy and I are out of the running."
"But I'm still in it!" Thalia laughed, "Prepare to lose."
Artemis rolled her eyes as Thalia proceeded to down her glass and instantly sit back unsteadily. They watched for a little bit as Thalia finally crashed.
"O-kay," Thalia mumbled, blinking rapidly, "That's enough tonight."
"Looks like we all owe Artemis money," Percy laughed, "again."
Both Nico and Percy passed the goddess the requisite amounts but she waved off Thalia, explaining that the demigoddess would essentially be paying her with the goddess's own money since she was the one who gave her hunters money to spend in the first place. The other two got a good laugh out of that while Thalia struggled to stay awake.
She ended up half asleep on the couch, sprawled awkwardly across the arm rest while her head hung over the edge. Another funny sight, but the other three ignored it in favor of conversation. Despite having finished the bottle, drink was still flowing, courtesy of Artemis. It wasn't anywhere near the same amount as it was previously, but it was more then enough to keep everyone at a healthy level.
Percy was pretty sure this was the first time he'd ever seen the goddess even slightly tipsy. Still though, she handled it quite well. In fact, had he not known her as well as he did, he might have thought she was perfectly sober. The odd action was enough to confirm it, be it a stray comment or maybe just the occasional look.
Still though, she was by far the most sober as both he and Nico had a healthy red tinge to their faces. Sure, they weren't slurring words, but Percy could definitely feel the effects of the liquor. It seemed that Artemis had made her usual drinks a bit stronger. Or maybe he'd just had more to drink in general.
When he asked, the goddess just explained that she had, "I don't think either of us have ever done this together."
Percy grinned, absentmindedly running a hand through his hair, "Fair enough. I've always wanted to see you cut loose."
The moon goddess looked like she wanted to say something else, but she didn't. Nico was actually the one to speak and the three of them spoke about this and that for the next hour. Eventually though, Nico decided to turn in. He took Thalia with her, leaving both Percy and Artemis alone together in the grand room. There would have been several empty glasses in front of them had the moon goddess not been flashing them away after they were finished. Still though, Percy was having a great time. He didn't particularly enjoy drinking, but it was a bit different when the moon goddess was involved, especially because she was doing it too.
Artemis seemed like she was having a great time as well, easily keeping up with and even surpassing him in drinks. She certainly seemed a little looser than usual and Percy found that he quite liked it.
Said moon goddess was currently tapping gently on his thigh as they sat together. At least, they were until the goddess perked up, quickly turning to face him, "There's a hot tub on the roof."
Percy blinked, trying to recall how Nico had told him to get there, "We should go."
Artemis nodded, "Meet back in five?"
"Here or on the roof?"
The moon goddess considered it for a moment before answering, "Let's meet up on the roof."
Percy nodded and slowly forced himself to stand up. He could feel the room lurch around him as he offered the goddess a hand up, but he got over it quickly and began making his way over to the door. Only, as he was about to close the door, he realized he didn't have a pair of trunks. Artemis quickly fixed that though by summoning a pair for him. They weren't his usual ones, but he kind of liked them better. They were simple. Really, they were just a pair of navy blue trunks with silver trim and a few crescent moons printed on them, but he thought they were great. Maybe a bit tighter than usual, but Percy did think they showed off his legs rather nicely.
He pulled them on and quickly made his way towards the elevator. It took a moment for it to reach him, but he was on his way up to the roof before too long. As it would happen, Artemis was already there, lounging in the hot water.
"Those look nice on you," the moon goddess didn't bother stopping herself from openly staring. It wasn't like he was much better. Sure, he'd seen her in such attire plenty of times, but by the gods was she pretty. Percy wasn't quite sure why it struck him so suddenly how truly pretty she was, but he could hardly stop himself. Still though, he managed to tear his eyes away after a moment sending a sheepish glance out towards the city as he did, "are you going to get in or am I going to wait here alone?"
This kick-started his brain, and he quickly hopped in with her. For some reason though, he couldn't help but do a sort of soft petting thing as he slipped down into the water next to her. The goddess didn't seem to mind though as she leaned into his hand a little. Now, normally, he would have never even considered doing this, but between the soft noise of content she made, the appreciative look, and the thrill of happiness he got as he did, he imagined he might do it more often.
He took another second to observe the moon goddess. She seemed to be wearing something similar to him. Artemis, rather than having trunks, was clad simply in a bikini top and bottom. He couldn't quite tell if they were the same blue as his, or if they were just black, but the silver trim certainly matched, leading him to believe that they were, in fact, blue. Independent of that though, he found himself taking in the sight. Honestly, it was no secret that the goddess was attractive, and while her outfit wasn't immodest in any way, it did nothing to hide her figure.
Yet again, he found himself struggling to look away. Artemis didn't seem to mind, even as she gave him that usual teasing look. Thankfully though, the goddess quickly took pity on him by choosing not to comment, "Did you get lost on the way up?"
Percy smiled, "Had to wait for the elevator."
Artemis hummed, conjuring up another bottle and two glasses as they sat and talked. Percy accepted his new glass which was filled about halfway to the top with a new amber liquid.
"You weren't kidding about this whole cutting loose thing, huh?" Percy asked.
Artemis just smiled to herself as she raised her own glass, "I was not. I imagined now would be as good a time as any to."
Percy had to agree, "Didn't really think I'd find myself on the roof drinking tonight, but here we are."
"Have you been enjoying?" Artemis asked curiously, clinking her glass against his own.
"It's been nice," Percy started, "Had some fun earlier, now we get to unwind and relax. What about you?"
"I still think I might prefer to be camped out somewhere in the back of your truck, but I don't mind this as much as I thought I would."
Percy agreed, "Yeah, but it's been nice to see Thalia and Nico. Still though, we might have to do this again some night down the line."
"Why is that?" Artemis shifted so that she was facing him a bit more.
Percy took a quick sip out of his glass before answering, "It's a different feeling when it's just us in the woods, you know?"
"I do," The Huntress seemed pleased, taking a bit out of her own drink, "You're handling this better than I thought you'd be."
"Yeah well," Percy smiled easily, "Can't let you drink all by yourself. Who knows what you'd get up to."
"Nothing unpleasant, I imagine," the goddess replied, "but I admit that I do have the undeniable urge to do something stupid."
Percy perked up a bit, curiosity evident, "And what might that be?"
The goddess looked away for a moment, "It's best not to say."
"No?" Percy asked curiously.
She shook her head, "I think that I'd enjoy it far more when I was sober, which is not to say that I wouldn't now, but I'd much rather wait for the right moment."
Percy laughed, "Well let me know if I can help you out then wherever you're ready."
The moon goddess glanced back at him for a second, "I'm sure I'll let you know soon enough."
Percy nodded easily, finishing off the last of his glass, "All you need to do is ask."
"I'm sure," the goddess mused, draining the contents of her own glass, "care for another?"
"If you're having one," Percy said, "these are going down way too easy right now."
"That will be a problem for us to worry about in the morning," the goddess filled both of their glasses again, "Though you shouldn't push yourself too much "
"I won't," Percy shook his head, "I'll let you know when I need to stop."
"I expect nothing less," the goddess laughed easily, "I never quite thought I'd find myself here."
Percy chuckled, "What do you mean?"
"For one, I never imagined having someone to do this with."
"Really?" Percy asked curiously.
Artemis nodded, "I think as we've discussed, it's hard to form many meaningful attachments. Many of my relationships are heavily influenced by politics or power, and the one person unbound by that is my brother and I'm sure I don't need to explain that."
Percy laughed, "I get what you mean then. But what about your hunt? You haven't done this with them?"
"I do not view them, or anyone, in the same way I view you," Artemis said softly, "I am their patron, and while I view them as people dear to me, they are also not exactly my equals, even if I wish them to be. I think that they have a hard time seeing me as another member. And to be fair, I'm not exactly."
Percy nodded understandingly as she continued, "It feels more so as if they are my children, rather than my sisters or friends. And I don't mind that, but it does make it lonely at times. Zoe was the exception to that."
"I sort of understand that," Percy said comfortingly, "not entirely, but I definitely get how it's lonely. It's weird."
"How so?"
"We're surrounded by people that we care about and love, but we're different from them so we're sort of alone in that sense."
Artemis agreed, "People do not see us for us, for one reason or another, which I think is something you've said in the past."
"Maybe. But," Percy suddenly grinned, leaning into the goddess, "we've got each other so we don't have to worry."
"That much is true," the goddess smiled softly, "and I would not trade that for the world."
"Me either," Percy affirmed.
They sat in silence for a bit, both taking small sips out of their drinks while enjoying the other's company. The water was blessedly warm, easily contrasting with the cool air of the night. Steam rolled off the small pool, partially obscuring everything and giving everything a sort of hazy look. It was quite pretty, as the soft lights of the city and the blue lights in the water kept everything just bright enough to see, but dark enough to feel closed off in a way. Percy wasn't quite sure what the word he was looking for was. Familiar? Personal sounded a little better but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Tell me about your ideal family," Artemis asked suddenly, breaking their easy silence.
Percy responded after a moment, "I don't know a lot about the details but I know I want kids, probably about two, maybe a few more. I was thinking a boy and a girl, but I have no idea. And, honestly, I don't think it matters to much since I am definitely not be ready for them yet. But I definitely want them in the future. I'm not emotionally ready to be a parent either, and I think I should probably be in a better spot before I even try starting my own family. Plus, I do have to find that special person.
Other than that though, I just have rough ideas of things I want to do with my family. Independent of kids, I really think I want my partner to be my best friend first, you know? What about you? I'm sure it's a bit different for you."
"Honestly?" Artemis asked, "I don't imagine it is. I've never been opposed to the idea of a family or a partner. It's always been more that I've never advertised it or really searched for it. I think I'm picky in that regard. Plus, I never wanted to be pestered about it by people. My oath as people tend to call it was only really a way to ensure my father never married me off for some political gain."
"Wait, so what was your oath then?" Percy asked.
"Essentially an agreement that I get to choose my partner of my own accord. Over time, it was misconstrued. Sure, it was a little more complex, but there was no need for me to advertise that."
"I see," Percy said as swayed a little. Honestly, he wasn't keeping up the best, but he understood the gist of what she was saying, "but why haven't you found someone- wait sorry that sounds really insensitive. I don't mean it like that but like why haven't you settled or anything like that or is it not that easy and oh this is just getting worse I'm going to shut up."
Artemis laughed, "I take no offense, Perseus. And to answer, it used to not interest me. I had no opinions on it any one way. For the longest time, I was content to do my own thing, be my own person."
"What changed?*
"I've always wanted children," Artemis answered, "but I never had the person I wanted to raise them with. There were certainly no gods or goddesses I considered suitable, and I don't think I could stand to not be around them if they were demigods. I don't think I would be able to handle it to not have them in my life the same way other gods do. If not for that, I imagine I would already have one, or multiple for that matter."
"But I imagine that feels pretty bad, right?" Percy asked, "wanting kids but never really having the means?"
"I have my hunt. It may not be a one to one but they have come to be like surrogates," Artemis responded, "They are more my children than anything and so they fill that need for me. I would still like my own, but my hunt makes me happy and it held me over."
"That's good," Percy smiled, "I've always liked the idea of starting my own family. Never thought I would for one reason or another, but that changed since I, you know, lived."
"Independent of that, what do you imagine your future like?"
"I haven't really thought about it that much. For now, I'm happy living as I am you know? Doing my own thing and really just trying to enjoy life."
Artemis nodded, "That sounds exactly like something you'd say."
"Yeah well," Percy shrugged jokingly, "when you see me growing out a beard, you'll know I'm ready to settle down or something."
"A beard?"
"My dad has one so I figured it'd make the most sense. Paul has a bit of one too."
"That makes no sense at all," Artemis laughed.
"Maybe not," Percy shrugged again, "But what do you think? Should I grow it out a little?"
Artemis rubbed the side of his face with back of her fingers, gently tracing a bit of his jaw, "You're clean shaven. You have nothing to grow out in the first place."
Percy basked in her touch, enjoying the feeling. He wasn't even aware of his eyes closing as he quietly leaned into her. It suddenly struck him that the word he'd been looking for was "intimate." He didn't linger on it for long though, "Maybe so, but there's no time like the present."
Artemis smiled at his reaction, not that he could see it, "Try a bit of stubble first and then we'll see how I like it."
Percy smiled, finally opening his eyes and lifting his glass a little, "I'm feeling this way more than I thought I was."
Artemis agreed, feeling the effects of the drink herself. Still though, she couldn't quite help herself, "One more and we're done?"
Percy took a deep breath. "This one's going to fuck me up but let's do it."
Artemis had already filled his glass and handed it to him. Percy took it with thanks as the moon goddess leaned in towards the son of the sea, placing her hand on his shoulder as she whispered in his ear, "Don't worry. I'll take care of you."
And, in that moment, Percy couldn't help but envision the rest of their lives together. Maybe it was because of the liquor, or maybe it was because their noses were practically touching as she pulled back. Or maybe it was because of the questions earlier, but whatever it was, it was enough for him to lose all rationality. And by the gods, did he want her in his life.
There was no instance he could think of without her and truth be told, it had been that way for a while now, even if he hadn't realized it. If anything, it had gotten to the point where it was more abnormal for them to be apart than it was for them to be together, especially in the past weeks. And he wouldn't have it any other way either. Percy was in deep, and there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it.
And so, he drained his glass with the goddess he loved doing the same right next to him.
Both took a moment with Percy having to shake his head to clear away the fuzziness while the moon goddess let her head tilt back a little to lean on the cool stone at the edge of the pool, letting out a long breath as she did. Percy glanced over, and had to stop himself from staring. Well, he supposed all those random bouts of staring at her and the various times he couldn't help but think about her made more sense.
"Are you okay?" Artemis broke their silence once more as she glanced over at him. She looked tired, gazing at him through half-lidded eyes, though he was certain there was something else in that look.
Percy chuckled, thinking about his predicament, "I'm fucked, but other than that, yeah. What about you?"
Artemis let out another long, happy sigh before smiling softly, "I'm thinking it's time for bed."
Huh. Well sorry I was gone for a while. A lot of things happened, but I'm back! We're getting places! I've got a rough plan of some things I'm really excited to write as well as a few drafts for when Percy does the whole god thing which is coming up pretty soon. I say that and mean like ten or so chapters from now, maybe more depending on how much I work on the build-up and all that. Let me know what you guys thought. I dunno how I feel about this chapter. I loved it when I was writing it but I feel like it might fall a bit flat reading it again. Hard to say.
To Sawgrass: Thanks! Hope you enjoy this one too. To Adrian King1: It's fun. You'll be getting more in the next chapter. To DoomsdayKid: Glad to hear it! It's a ton of fun to write them all together. Wanted to do a few fun moments here then get on to the main part of this chapter. Next chapter you'll see more interaction though! To IsItReallyTho: Glad you like it. And thank you again because that's crazy. Hope you enjoy this chapter! To kikinder: Less than I thought it would be. I'm saving some of the worse chaos for the next few chapters actually, but I wanted to take this one in a bit of a different direction. To TomorrowCarpe Diem: Heh. Yeah. Wonder how that's going to play out in the next few chapters. To Vladiz45: Thanks! That means a lot to me since there characters are what really drive this story. To Darth66: Those are some great ideas and I think I'm going to use bits and pieces of them because it helped me come up with what I think is a great idea for later in the story. So thank you! To HellRaiderS: Thanks! Sorry it took so long but here it is! To Kaya: Pacings about to speed up honestly then slow back down when I get some of the important things out of the way. To Aether27: Thank you as always! Love hearing from you and happy holidays! To MasterTrident: Yeah had to go back and change that! Thanks for telling me though. I wasn't really thinking about it too much and just wrote what came to me so I had to go back in and edit it. To Remvis: Ah thanks! I love writing Thalia. She's just a hell of a lot of fun to write since she was always one of my favorite characters. So much personality and characterization in so little space and time you know? Love it. To Exxen: Thank you! Touching on some of the big topics, I've always felt that Artemis was one of those characters that has been turned into a very cold, almost hateful person and I really wanted to change that a little. I've always had a problem seeing a character who embodies motherly instinct and childcare as being cold and uncaring. At the same time, you juxtapose that with the aspect of nature, and you see it, but I've never seen nature be discriminatory or anything like that. It's always been life, and so I never really saw a reason for her to have this hard shell or anything. And I loved writing chapter 32 because I got to explore Artemis in that sense a little more, embracing the colder aspects of her personality with her actions of the past. I wanted to use it as a chance to develop her character a little more so that I could explore some things down the line. Thank you again for all the reviews! Loved hearing from you! To Prenicolado: Yeah had some issues come up with my PC then with life. Unlucky, but here we are! Sorry I couldn't say anything since I couldn't really post. To Night1551: You have no idea how much that means to me! Thank you so much for that because it really does make me super, super happy. To Storp930: That means the world to me so thank you so much! I love this story and I've got a lot of fun things planned down the line for it. Hope you continue to enjoy! To Tri-Edge: Ffn has been weird recently. I'm not exactly sure what the issue is, but glad to hear you're enjoying still! Happy Holidays. To AmWRAZ: Little bit, but I also figured that Sally, as both a mother and clear-sighted mortal with very keen intuition would see right through someone going through their first love you know? To BrynHildr56: Sorry it took so long. I typically update every Wednesday but some stuff kept me from doing that. Glad to hear you enjoy though! To PaleFeed: Sorry to hear that, but thank you for telling me! I like hearing critcism because it helps me do better. To Norb: Hey that's crazy, but thank you so much! Update is here! And I reiterate that rereading it is wild to me, but thank you! Truly. To The Last Centurion 1: Thank you! Glad to hear you enjoyed it! Happy Holidays to you as well and hope you continue to enjoy! To brokenpotato: update!
Well that's that. Hope you guys enjoyed and sorry for being gone for so long. Life started doing life things. I'm sure you get the idea. Anyway, we're back to regular schedule now! Let me know what you think!