Song recommendation: "I Don't Mind" by Defeater. A bit fitting given the last chapter no? Very much a song about being deeply in love and just enjoying the company of the person you'd do anything for. It's both about Percy and about Artemis in my mind, with Percy just having realized why he feels so drawn to the goddess, and Artemis knowing that she was willing to wait and let Percy be ready. I think this song embraces the idea of everything being okay so long as you're with those you love, and I can't help but link that to these two. It's easy to listen to, easy to play, and just a great song overall. Let me know what you think.

Their movements are a far cry from the usual graceful, almost fluid motions they normally had. And they didn't mind that one bit as they leaned on each other, laughing all the way as they stumbled around the elevator, trying to reach their room. They were together. Who cared about anything else? They did eventually manage to find their floor, and the two partners nearly fell out the door as it opened. Thankfully, they were able to catch themselves. It took them another few moments to locate Artemis's room as Percy had insisted on walking her to it, even though they had the floor to themselves. So what if they were all connected in the big lounge room?

Still, the goddess appreciated it. That being said, it didn't really matter in the end. It seemed that Thalia was sprawled across the entirety of the bed, taking up as much of the available space as she possibly could. Sort of reminded Percy of a dog as she snored away.

"That's going to be a bit of a problem, huh?" Percy said as they stood in the doorway, observing their friend. There wasn't exactly any room for the goddess to sleep, and so they were at an impasse. They could move the demigoddess, but both were steering clear of that as Thalia was notorious for not moving and they both felt a bit bad about moving her. Percy glanced back out the door towards his own room before speaking, "let's see if Nico is around maybe?"

Artemis agreed, "I can always sleep on the couch, should it come to that."

"Absolutely not," Percy said vehemently, turning to the goddess, "you can take mine, and I'll sleep on the couch."

"I'm not going to steal your bed," Artemis countered as they gently poked around the other rooms. After a few tries, they found the Ghost King passed out in his own room, sleeping peacefully with his arms folded across his stomach.. At least one of them had managed to make it back to their intended bed without issue.

That left Percy with a question, "how did she even end up in your room anyway?"

Artemis shrugged as they trudged over to the other remaining room, "It's best not to question it when it comes to Thalia."

"Yeah no kidding," Percy snickered as they finally pushed the door to his room open, allowing the both of them access, "At least nobodies in here. Looks like you'll have to sleep here."

"You're still not sleeping on the couch," Artemis said, ignoring his attempt at giving her the better accommodations, "And you're not going to be able to change my mind. I will take it."

"I don't see any problem with the couch," Percy said easily, turning slowly to grab a change of clothes out of his bag.

"Yes well I do," the goddess countered, "you're sleeping here."

"I'm not letting you take the couch," Percy said adamantly. Truth be told, he really just wanted to sleep. He didn't really have the energy to argue, and neither did the goddess.

"Fine," the goddess snapped her fingers, instantly changing both of their outfits into something they could sleep in, "you sleep here with me then."

Percy dropped the clothes in his hand back into the bag, looking up at the goddess as he bent over to do so. He opened his mouth to respond but quickly closed it upon seeing the look in her eyes. She was almost daring him to argue, but he wasn't sure he had the energy to. Sleep sounded far too enticing for him to bother.

"Okay," Percy conceded, glancing over towards the bed before looking back at himself. He noted that his newly summoned pants seemed to match his swimwear. Percy also noted the lack of a shirt, but he couldn't have cared less. It was hot anyway.

"Good," The moon goddess smiled to herself, "Was that so hard?"

Percy shrugged as he slowly made his way over towards the bed, "Guess not."

Artemis seemed happy, but then again, so was he. A bit nervous, but still very happy. The goddess voiced as much as she dropped onto the bed and curled up a bit, "I think we can call this night a success."

Percy chuckled and turned off the light. Then, he flopped down onto the bed next to the Huntress who was already laying on her stomach, snuggled into the blanket.

"We might not think so in the morning. Drinking that much was probably a bad idea," Percy laughed as he turned his head to look at the goddess.

She cracked an eye open so that she could seem him, even while cuddled up into her pillow, "Perhaps, but I do love making bad decisions."

"Pretty sure you're the responsible one between the both of us," Percy turned over so that he was on his side, "most of the time."

The moon goddess smiled, closing her eyes once more as she pulled the pillow towards her, "Most of the time."

Neither managed to stay awake for much longer after that with both drifting off into deep sleep. Percy, for the first time in a while, would have no dreams. Artemis didn't really dream either, rather she spent some of her night conversing with Diana. That being said, "conversing" was a rather generous term though as it was primarily Diana doing the speaking since the Greek goddess wasn't in much position to talk.

Diana, having watched and partially experienced their night, was ribbing her counterpart relentlessly while Artemis, who was barely half awake, shot the Roman goddess a look in their shared mental space. Artemis mumbled a bit to defend herself but most of it was obscured by her arms and the pillow. Even in her own mind, she was still laying down, partially lying against her friend which the roman goddess did not hesitate to point out. Artemis countered that by saying that it was, "still progress."

The Roman goddess laughed quietly behind her hand, "For which I am thankful. It took you long enough."

Artemis grumbled, shifting herself so that her back was pressed against the young man, causing Diana to laugh. Usually, they'd appear to be conversing in their palace on Olympus. Tonight, it seemed that the goddess couldn't be bothered, unwilling to give up her current location for even a moment, "Why are you bothering me?"

Diana feigned a look of hurt but answered none the less, "I think it's only fair I have a bit of fun too."

Artemis opened her eyes to regard her counterpart, "Fine."

"Is that really all it took?" Diana's voice was incredulous.

Artemis grumbled again, "I'd like to sleep, so just… Don't do anything stupid."

Diana grinned as her Greek counterpart let her take control, "Never."

Percy blinked a few times, trying to block out a bit of the light shining on his face. Sunlight was just barely peeking out through a tiny gap in the curtains. Still, he'd slept quite well actually. Far better than usual, and he'd apparently managed to avoid a hangover, something that he was thankful for as he stretched a little. He was a bit thirsty, though he didn't quite want to get up yet. The blanket was nice and warm. Bit heavy too, but in the best way. The son of the sea was far too comfortable to move. That didn't stop him from looking around.

Unfortunately, this caused him to nearly jump out of his own skin when he looked down a little to find shining silver eyes staring at him. Her hand was laid firmly below his sternum while her chin rested on said hand while the rest of her body draped across his legs. Guess that explained the weight. The goddess looked quite amused as Percy desperately tried to calm his beating heart. He'd love to think that it was just because he had been caught off guard, but he couldn't deny the small trill of happiness that shot through him when he saw the goddess. Another part of him considered her rather warm hands against his skin. Still, no small amount of surprise coursed through him.

"A-Artemis," Percy stumbled over the goddess's name, something that only caused her to laugh.

"Try again," said the goddess, poking his chest with her free hand, "Surely I haven't been gone that long?"

For some reason, Percy felt some of the worry drain away, letting out a quick sigh of relief , "Diana. When'd you switch?"

The Roman goddess hummed, turning her head as she did so, "Oh sometime while you were asleep. I did promise you I'd come back."

"True," Percy looked around, "Though this is not exactly how I imagined us meeting again."

Diana gave him that foxy look she loved to use, "Bit less clothing involved than I thought there'd be, but not unpleasant."

Percy looked down at his bare chest, "Yeah how exactly did this happen?"

"Depends."

"On what? And how?" Percy asked in confusion, "because I'm at least ninety percent sure that doesn't make any sense."

The goddess patted his head, "Don't worry your pretty little head. Math has never been your thing."

"Funny," Percy deadpanned, "but that doesn't answer my question at all."

"How much do you remember?"

Percy remembered getting into the elevator with the Greek goddess on their way back down, but after that was mostly a blur. Even before that, it was a little patchy here and there. He did, however, distinctly remember coming to a rather important realization, "I remember leaving the hot tub but not much after that."

"So you don't remember what you said?" Diana asked curiously. He could hear the teasing tone, but was suddenly more concerned about what he could have potentially said.

"Tentative no," Percy said, barely managing to keep himself from sounding nervous, "What did I say and how does it affect the reason?"

Diana laughed, "It doesn't."

Percy wanted to scream, "So you're messing with me."

It wasn't a question and Diana grinned, "As I always do. But to give you a more concrete answer, my dear counterpart didn't think you'd need one. Something about bad decisions or some other reason."

Percy stared at her blankly, "Yeah alright you can leave now. I want Artemis back."

Diana pinched his arm lightly, "Be nice. Is this how you treat your friend after not seeing them for weeks?"

"Says the one who's messing with me first thing."

"I'm toning it down," the goddess laughed.

"Right. I'm not sure I believe you."

Diana feigned hurt, "I'm being nice."

"Then I'm not sure I want to experience you being mean," Percy chuckled.

"Don't push me too far," Diana mock-threatened him, "you never know what I might have on you."

"You don't have anything!" Percy laughed, "You haven't been around."

"Really?" Diana deadpanned, "That's awfully confident coming from Mr. Seashore."

Percy cried out indignantly as the goddess poked him in the ribs, "Hey! I thought you said you wouldn't tease me about it anymore."

"Artemis may have, but I certainly did not," Diana laughed, "Was that really the best you could come up with?"

"In my defense," Percy put his hands out placating, "It was a spur of the moment thing."

"That is akin to me saying that your eyes are as beautiful as the endless ocean," she said, as she grabbed his face to stare at his sea green irises, adding something almost as an afterthought, "Even if they are."

Percy blushed wildly, causing Diana to laugh happily while he tried to fight back the blood rushing to his face. "You're the worst."

"You love me all the same," Diana said cheerily. If Artemis had been energetic when she got back, Diana was almost tenfold as she bounced around, even while still on the bed. He wasn't entirely sure how she was going to contain herself in the car, but he imagined that was a problem for future him. After all, she could get some of that energy out fighting monsters today.

Going back to what the goddess had said though, he couldn't exactly deny that. It was certainly part of her charm. Still, Percy found himself at a bit of a loss. Was he in love with Artemis, Diana, or both? He could firmly say he had feelings for the Greek aspect of the Huntress, but he wasn't exactly sure where that left him with Diana. For one, was it immoral for him to have feelings for both? It wasn't like he didn't like her. He did but that left him in a very awkward spot.

The problem was that there was only one of him. Then again though, that problem might resolve itself in time whenever he got a Roman aspect himself, assuming he did anyway. Then again, none of that really mattered if the goddess didn't return his feelings in the first place. At the same time, would she really have let him do as much as he had if she didn't?

Percy shook his head a little. There would be plenty of time for him to obsess over it at night. For one, he was not going to let these feelings get in the way of his friendship. And for two, if she did return his feelings, he'd only even approach the topic when he was fully certain that she did. Percy pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, and quite frankly, he'd rather not spend his day obsessing over his best friend. Really, he was going to have to have a chat with Aphrodite about this whole love thing.

"What's got you thinking so hard?" Diana asked.

Percy shrugged, or gave his best impression of one since he was laying down still, "Oh you know. Thoughts."

The moon goddess pushed herself up so that she was supporting herself with both arms, "And how do you feel?"

Percy yawned, stretching a little as he did, "Like I don't want to get out of bed yet."

"But you're going to have to."

"Why's that?"

"Other than because both Nico and Thalia are going to come knocking on your door in less than a minute?" Diana asked, "no reason. I'm sure you'd love to explain this to my Lieutenant."

Percy didn't quite blanch, but he did sit up, "And you know this how?"

"I can hear them," the Huntress said simply, "So perhaps the shower?"

"What?" Percy asked, staring blankly.

"As in," Diana looked amused, "You might want to get in the shower. Now would be a good time."

Percy blinked a few times before it clicked, and he scrambled out of bed, nearly falling over as did. Still, he did make it into the shower, cranking the knobs so that the hot water would flow. Honestly, it was what he needed at the moment. He took a moment to strip out of his pants, briefly noting their color and features before stepping in and closing the door behind him.

It was one of those really big showers with the rain shower head, trimmed in some sort of granite or something? It was stone of some sort. All that mattered was that it had running water really, but he couldn't deny that he'd love to have a long think while in it.

Hmm. Yet another idea for something to include in their little fort. That did bring him down another trail of thought. What, exactly, was he supposed to do about the whole… Well, to call a spade a spade: being in love with his best friend? How was that even supposed to go down? What would he even say to the moon goddess? Whoops! Sorry, I know we're really good friends but I'm actually desperately and hopelessly in love with you and I don't think I could imagine a life without you in it.

Yeah. Percy was sure that'd go over just fine.

That wasn't even mentioning the three-thousand-year old oath in the room. If he hadn't been worried enough about jeopardizing their friendship, he was doubly worried about how his specific choice in women would go over. Really. He just had to choose one of the three women who'd sworn off men entirely.

Then again, a poisonous voice -or perhaps just a hopeful one- reminded him of all the things the goddess had said. For one, he distinctly remembered her saying her oath was just a promise that her father wouldn't marry her off. And, he could vaguely recall her saying something about her making her own choices about having a partner. It would be nice if that were true. And, that didn't address the fact that they could still technically be in a relationship.

Great. Just fucking fantastic. Percy put his face in his hands as he sat in the running water. Not even a day into his realization, and he was already trying to come up with some fantastical world where everything would just work out.

Oh how the Fates loved treating him like their chew toy. Percy took a moment to calm himself down by turning up the heat of the water a little. It wouldn't get much hotter after that, but that was fine. He was going to get out in a second anyway. At the very least, he'd unconsciously started washing himself while his mind desperately tried to make sense of itself.

Again, he forced himself to not think about it, instead focusing on the task ahead of them. It wasn't a great solution in the long term, but it'd do for now. At least he had something to look forward to today. Percy imagined that he'd be in a wholly different boat if he hadn't. Unlucky he supposed.

Despite telling himself that he wouldn't spend any more time in the shower, it took him another five minutes to drag himself out. This time, he took a bit of time to towel dry himself before tending to his hair. The goddess - both aspects of said goddess - had insisted at some point or another that he put some effort into it, saying that it was far too nice for him not to. After that was all said and done, he pulled his towel around himself and peeked out the door. Luckily, nobody was in the room so he was free to get his clothes from his bag and change.

It was pretty different from what he'd worn the previous day, instead opting for a pair of black cargo pants and a thick, fitted cotton shirt. It had actually been a gift from Hesita and had a little pine tree embossed on the front. He quite liked it. Sure, it made him look like a bit of a man-whore, but who cared? Given everything going on in his mind, he needed something to bolster his self-confidence. After that, he slipped on his usual necklace along with his little obsidian bracelet and signet ring.

Great. Percy took a moment to sit and breath, letting out a long breath as he flopped back onto the bed. After a few minutes, the son of Poseidon pushed himself up before exiting the room. He was surprised to see that only Diana was on the couch while Nico and Thalia were nowhere to be found.

"Where is everyone?"

Diana turned to look at him, giving him a once over before responding, "I like that shirt on you. And Nico and Thalia are making sure the Labyrinth exit is secure while we go and get your friend."

"Thanks," Percy said, dropping into the seat next to her, "And that sounds good. Are you okay with going to Camp Halfblood, or do you want to drop in at my cabin and just wait there so that nobody sees you? I'm sure you'd rather avoid the headache of everyone trying to call you Artemis."

Diana beamed at him, "That sounds like a plan to me. And yes, I would like to avoid that if at all possible."

Percy nodded, "Well, whenever you're ready, we can head over. Shouldn't take too long to walk to get Rachel and come back."

The moon goddess nodded and that's exactly what they did. Now, if one were to ask why they didn't just flash straight towards the entrance of the oracle's cave, there wouldn't be any reasonable answer. Sure, it might have been easier. Probably faster too. But, they weren't really thinking about it. And so, Diana found herself in Percy's cabin, wandering around and looking at the various things in it. It was pretty. And empty. With the exception of a very well crafted fountain, it looked like it had been untouched for the past fifty years. Everything was clean, but it was in an untouched, unused sort of way.

That made enough sense though. Percy wasn't exactly around to use it that often. Really though, she couldn't imagine him growing up there, spending all of his time alone in this cabin. Even though the decor fit him to a tee, it didn't really make her think of him. In Diana's mind, his house fit him far better. Of course it did though.

The goddess ended up flopping down into one of the beds with her legs kicked over one side as she waited. She was a bit curious about this friend of Percy's, doubly so because the girl in question happened to be her brother's oracle, and was interested to meet her. On the other hand, she was eager to get the man on his own so they could spend time together. It wasn't like they had a whole lot of time before Artemis took control again. While the Greek goddess hadn't bothered her yet, Diana was sure that it would happen relatively soon. And so, that made her time here all that much more precious.

Still, it was nice to see him. The goddess would have been lying if she'd said that she hadn't been enjoying their time together already, even despite the rather short amount. After switching aspects, the roman goddess allowed herself to sleep almost instantly. She had no need for it, but the Huntress couldn't help but indulge herself a little bit. Who knew when she'd be able to do it next? Plus, Percy had been warm after getting out of the hot tub. Shoot her.

The goddess found herself lost in thought, thinking about what she'd do with her time. She had a few ideas, but nothing major that she really wanted to do. That wasn't really a problem though, since they tended to play things by ear anyway. Their current plan was an excellent example of that. Speaking of which, she could hear footsteps approaching the door, and as such, wasn't all too surprised when she heard the door knob wiggle a bit before opening. She'd met her brother's oracle, or Artemis had at least, and she looked much the way the goddess remembered. Curly red hair, bright green eyes, freckles, and rather tall. Quite similar to her at first glance actually.

Both Percy and the Oracle seemed to be having a rather light-hearted conversation with one another as they stepped into the room, but Percy quickly shifted his attention to the goddess, greeting her with a wide smile.

"Diana," Percy gestured back to the girl, "Rachel. Rachel, Diana. Not sure if you've been acquainted."

"Artemis may have interacted with her, but I have not," Diana smiled kindly as she sat up, standing to greet her brother's oracle with an outstretched hand, "A pleasure."

Rachel stepped forward, taking the goddess's hand and shaking it, "Likewise."

"Well," Percy nodded after a moment, "This feels awkward."

Diana laughed, and Rachel smacked him as the goddess spoke, "Perhaps a little, but nothing a little time won't solve."
"That's good," Percy said, "Have we explained what we needed your help for?"

"Only slightly," the Oracle seemed far more comfortable speaking to Percy, but the goddess didn't exactly blame her, "I know you need my help with the Labyrinth. Again."

"Mmm yeah," Percy shrugged, "having a clear sighted mortal does make life easier."

"That doesn't really answer my question though."

Diana chose to speak this time, "Recently, Percy and I cleared out a small horde of monsters that had been gathering around an entrance to the Labyrinth, and so we thought it best to investigate it a little more."

"Yep," Percy nodded, "So we came here to get your help."

Rachel nodded slowly, "Forgive me, but why do you need my help? Lady Diana should be all you need."

"Maybe so," Diana agreed kindly, "But an extra set of eyes never hurt, and I imagine that you'd enjoy stretching your legs a little."

Rachel grinned, very much agreeing, "Can't argue there. What exactly are we looking for?"

"Something that might tell us why all the monsters just randomly started clumping together after not doing it," Percy explained, "And don't ask me what that might look like because I've got no clue."

"Anything information we can find will be helpful. Truthfully, even if we don't find anything, it will be useful. Anything that could explain their actions benefits us, even if that stems from a lack of reason. Monsters do as they please, and it could simply be that we missed them due to them being in the labyrinth," Diana explained, "If anything, that would be preferable."

Percy nodded, agreeing, "Pretty much!"

"Alright," The oracle nodded, and the Huntress watched as she seemed to resolve herself, "I can do that."

Diana glanced over at Percy for a moment before looking back at the girl, "Do you have a weapon? It is best that you are not unarmed."

The oracle nodded again, "Will a dagger do? I have one on me, but if I need a sword or anything, I'd need to get one."

Diana considered it for a moment before snapping her fingers and summoning forth a simple xiphos and offering it to the oracle, "A sword would be preferable, but I think it comes down to a matter of comfort before anything else. Do you have training with either?"

The girl shook her head, "Not really."

The huntress nodded, "Then take the sword. The longer range will be safer than using a knife."

Percy chimed in, "Agreed. But you should be fine regardless. Just stay close to me and we shouldn't have a problem."

Diana nodded.

Wack. Meant to post this yesterday but had some issues unfortunately. Oh well, chapter is here today. Continued a bit of the last chapter, and we've got Diana back. I did this so I could explore a few things and make Percy a bit more unsure. Anyway, let me know what you think. Oh also, I'm not going to be able to respond to reviews this week since there are a lot and I'm sapped for time. To address a few of the big things though, thank you all so much for reviewing and the support on the last chapter. Meant and still means a lot to me so thank you! Another thing, I got a review and a few PMs from people asking about how the Labyrinth came back and how it exists. I don't want to spoil things if you haven't read, but if you haven't don't read this. Essentially, I forget which book it happens in, but Pasiphae the goddess caused it to reform and then it gets taken over by Ariadne so that it continues on. Anyway, that's the major stuff. Have fun and I'll see you guys next week! Hopefully I won't be late. Let me know what you think!