Song Rec: "The Cascade" by Moving Mountains. A lovely atmospheric song that I've loved for a long time. Highly recommend this band. Then again, I'm recommending them so the same can be said for any of them really. Anyway, this is a song that I very strongly associate with Artemis for different reasons than I initially thought I would. In the beginning of this story, I very much intended for Percy to die, leaving Artemis with only memories of their time together. In that iteration, they wouldn't have even been together in a romantic sense. Instead, they would have been together as inseparable friends because I had thought it went against the idea of the goddess "Artemis". This song is very much one about longing and desperately clinging to those memories of someone you've lost. And then, there's a line about throwing oneself off a cliff in hopes of not making it, but not being able to die. That's pretty on the nose honestly. If Percy were to die, Artemis would never be able to follow him into the afterlife or rebirth due to her nature as a god. And from there, they'd be cursed to be apart for the rest of time. The entire song is about this deeper connection between two people, and I think that suits Percy and Artemis quite well. Just to be clear, I have no intention of this being a tragedy. Maybe a different story down the line, but who knows? Anyway, let me know what you think. Side note, I wrote both this rec and the last chapter's rec right after each other. Can you tell that I'm in the mood to kill off some characters? I won't of course because this isn't one of those stories, but I think I'll do it in one of my exercises. Maybe I'll post it but who knows?

"You're an odd person, you know that?"

"I mean," Percy laughed, raising his glass, "can you really be talking?"

"I suppose not," Diana laughed heartily while reciprocating the gesture, "I suppose we could be worse though."

"We're an odd pair," Percy admitted, "But I think you take the cake. Like what kind of question is that?"

"A genuine one," Diana smacked his arm lightly, "How good are you at catching apples?"

"I can't say I've ever tried, honestly," Percy laughed, "Do I need to start practicing or something?"

"I'm sure it wouldn't hurt," Diana shrugged, "Who knows when someone's going to start pelting you with fruit?"

"Why apples though?"

Diana shrugged again, "I like apples."

"Right," Percy rolled his eyes in amusement, "You're insane."

"Crazy, not insane," Diana corrected.

"Is there a difference?"

"I think so."

Percy laughed, "I'll take your word for it. Are you sure Apollo hasn't rubbed off on you more than you thought? That's something he'd ask."

"He is my brother."

"I guess," Percy agreed, "What's he been up to anyway? Haven't really been keeping in touch with anyone."

"About as good as he usually is. He and I are actually going to have dinner together in a few days since it's been a while since we've seen each other."

"That's cool," Percy smiled, "When do you plan on doing that?"

"We haven't set a specific date yet, but we were planning on it being when we met up with my hunters. Maybe a little before."

"Somehow I get the feeling you're going to put it off for a bit," Percy grinned.

"I might," Diana shrugged knowing full-well that she was, "It will likely be later, in part because I don't want to just leave you alone."

Percy waved her off, "You let me know when you're going and I'll just plan to do something that night. I know we're basically attached at the hip, but I'm not going to freak out if you're not around."

He chuckled as he spoke. Diana seemed amused by that, "And what would you do?"

"Who knows?" Percy grinned, "Maybe I'll catch up on some sleep or something. Or maybe I could spend some time with your hunters if it happens to fall during that time, maybe play some games or something?"

"Well," Diana seemed thoughtful, "If you wanted, you're more than welcome to go somewhere with them. I'm sure they'd appreciate that too."

"Really?" Percy perked up a bit at that, "That sounds fun. Make a little day out of it."

"I've been meaning to anyway, and I only have to go to dinner anyway so we could all do something."

Percy grinned, "I like the sound of that. What would we do?"

"I'm not sure. It's probably a bad idea to keep them contained somewhere. I'm not sure they'd behave."

"Maybe we could take them to the park or something?"

"That's not a bad idea," Diana nodded, "Or maybe we could do something to keep them distracted. Something more active?"

"Uh," Percy scratched his head, "Trampoline park?"

"Sounds a bit childish, but it does work. I do think that's along the right lines."

"Hmm," Percy looked up at the stars as he thought, "Paintball?"

Diana didn't say anything for a moment, but a rather wide grin did break out across her face, "I like the sound of that."

"Perfect amount of competition, and they'll be running around."

"Plus, it'll keep them from being destructive since they won't be able to focus elsewhere. How would we divide the teams though?"

"Great question. Captains maybe?" Percy asked.

"Potentially hurt feelings there though," Diana countered.

"Good point," Percy grimaced a little, "What about if you and I just make the teams? That way it'll be as even as possible, and nobody will be upset."

"Sounds good to me," Diana agreed, "Let's figure it out closer to the day we do it."

"What should we do now then?"

"Well," Diana grinned as she topped off both of their drinks, "I'm in the mood for a game since we've been talking about it."

"What sort of game?"

"Not sure yet," the goddess shrugged, "something with strategy. I'd rather feel accomplished when I beat you."

"Even after doing it so many times?"

"I promise it never gets old."

"You would say that," Percy laughed, "But I'm game. I have a few board games if you want to try them."

"Sounds good to me," Diana said easily, shifting back with her arms out behind her, "Why don't you choose one you like and you can teach me?"

"Is this an ego thing?" Percy chuckled, pushing himself up, "Because I'm sure you'll still manage to beat me even if it is."

"Not really," Diana shook her head with a smile, "I'm just curious about what games you like and this is a great chance for me to pick your brain a little."

"You know all you have to do is ask," Percy said, taking a moment to dust the sand off of his clothes, "I'll be right back."

"Try not to get lost."

"Ha-ha," Percy laughed sarcastically over his shoulder as he made his way into the house. Honestly, he just grabbed the first game he saw. It was a little board game about building cities and collecting resources to build more up until you had a certain amount of points. It was a pretty good mix of luck and strategy since the players could barter back and forth and even choose to restrict the flow of resources from entire areas if they rolled correctly.

Diana seemed to get the hang of it rather quickly, but she always did have a rather tactical mind. Still, it didn't stop Percy from complaining when she almost completely cut him off, suffocating his trading routes and all that. Still, he got lucky in that he managed to get a large supply of one of the more restrictive resources, forcing the goddess to trade through him if she wanted any chance to expand. Of course, if she didn't, neither of them would have been able to continue, but that was part of the fun.

"You're so lucky I need you," Diana grumbled playfully, handing him a small stack of resource cards.

Percy hummed in amusement as he organized the offered cards into his hand, "Glad you didn't get rid of me first thing?"

"Only so that I can keep you around for my benefit," Diana shrugged, rolling the dice, "Speaking of which, what would I have to give you for the livestock?"

Percy smirked, "See, as it would happen, I don't need anything at the moment."

"Sure about that?" Diana questioned, pulling out a card. Percy had to admit, it would be rather nice to have, but he had the power in this transaction.

"While I do like the sound of that, I think I'll need a little more from you," Percy rubbed his fingers together like one of those merchants in the movies that tried extorting their customers, "What else do you have for me?"

Diana hummed, glancing back through her hand before smiling and looking back up at him, "I can offer you the card and a few services."

"What sort of services are we talking about?" Percy asked curiously, again missing clear signs, "Because I'd love it if one of them was that road you have running through the eastern part of the board."

Diana smirked a little, knowing that she'd gotten him. In actuality, the road he needed wasn't going to be of much use since she'd basically surrounded the area around it. He could use it, but he wouldn't get anything from it. Still, it wouldn't be a bad idea to try to use it to gauge where he was at, "I can't do that, but I can give you two sets of soldiers for the next three turns."

"Enticing, but I'm not sure it's enough."

"Fine," the goddess rolled her eyes in amusement, "You can have the road if I get three herds of livestock each turn for the next five."

Percy laughed, "You're really trying to bleed me dry huh? I guess I'll take you up on that deal."

Diana grinned rather wickedly, "And with that, I think you've lost. Your road doesn't really go anywhere so I've got you trapped still."

The son of the sea returned the look, "See, I'd agree with you if it didn't give me the longest road on the board."

"Meaning?"

"You get two points for having it, and that puts me at ten points. Nice try though."

Diana laughed, looking down at the board, "I guess it's my loss then."

"First time for everything. You played really well considering you've never played before. I thought you had me for a bit."

"Next time I think I will," Diana grinned, taking a sip out of her drink, "Could I interest you in another game?"

"I think you could," Percy grinned, taking a moment to lean back onto his blanket. The fire was still burning wonderfully and their blanket was perfectly soft beneath them. The only issue was that sand would occasionally wind up on his hands, courtesy of the soft breeze. Oh well. It was more than worth it.

"Having played through this once now, I'm sort of surprised that you like playing this game," Diana commented as they both rearranged the board into a different pattern so that the terrain and resource distribution would be different.

"It is a little nerdy, isn't it?" Percy laughed, taking a moment to reorganize all of the resource cards, "but it's a lot of fun and I really like having to trade and set up supply lines and do all of these little management things."

"There's nothing wrong with being a bit nerdy," Diana leaned back a little, observing the board's layout as she did, "Besides, we're outside on the beach and we needed something to do. While I'm sure there are a few things we could have done, I was really interested to see what sort of things you like."

"It was one of the games I learned from Nico actually. He was always into these sorts of things. Makes sense given who his dad is, but I ended up being pretty decent at it. Enough to win most games anyway"

"Bet that drove him a little crazy," Diana laughed.

"Not Nico so much," Percy shrugged, "He was just happy to have someone to play with. Annabeth was the one who hated it."

"Why's that?"

"She was always the strategist," Percy said nonchalantly, shifting his weight a little so that he could lean forward, "so I think it bothered her when I beat her at it."

"You're an excellent strategist though," Diana said easily, "I've seen you fight. You've got more than just raw technique. Anyone can do that. You mix it with clever strategies and tricks to keep an upper hand. Maybe not against lesser opponents, but certainly against stronger ones."

"I'm not that good."

Diana rolled her eyes, "Right right. Tell that to my Lieutenant. I'm sure she'd have some choice words. So would the rest of my huntresses for that matter."

Percy chuckled awkwardly," I guess you're right. Still, I don't think about it that much."

"Because you haven't fought difficult enemies recently. When you sparred with my hunters last, I saw the ways you managed to take them down. You're almost seamless in how you transition between movements, all while managing your space perfectly and forcing your enemy to constantly be on guard. I'm sure I don't need to explain how difficult that actually is to you, of all people."

Percy grinned, "Fine fine. I'm pretty okay."

Diana smacked his thigh softly, "Shut up and play the damn game."

Percy laughed at that, but obliged her nonetheless, "Anything for you, my Lady."

"Quit that," Diana smiled happily, "You know I'd never ask you to do anything like that."

He looked quite happy with himself as he spoke, grinning gleefully to himself, "That's the beauty of it. You'll never have to."

"You're being cheesy."

"Can't help it," Percy shrugged, "I was always the sappy romantic."

"Tell me about that," Diana said, setting down her drink to roll the dice.

"What's there to say?" Percy asked curiously, watching carefully as the goddess rolled, "Do you want first and last or second and third?"

"Second and third," Diana said, "And whatever you really want. I've never experienced it."

"Uh well," Percy rubbed his head while trying to figure out where to put down his first piece, "I think one of the big things for me was not being alone. Companionship I guess. Sort of a treasured thing after all the bullshit with the demigod world. It's a mundane little thing, right?"

"You sure you want to put that down there?" Diana asked, watching as he set his first one down, "And that sounds exactly like something you'd say. I'm sure there was more to it than that though."

"Uh well," Percy reexamined the board, but didn't move anything, "I'm not sure how to explain being in love exactly, but that was a big one for sure."

"I'd hope so," Diana chuckled, moving so that she could set down her two towns, "You know I'm not going to be upset if you talk about it, right? I did ask."

Percy had the decency to look bashful about it, "Yeah I know. It's still just a bit weird to talk about."

"I understand," Diana's voice was soothing, "Sorry if you didn't want to."

"No, it's not that," Percy looked at the board again, "I'm just… It's weird to look back at everything in hindsight. I guess one of the big things for me, at least that I enjoyed, was that it felt like I had a partner in crime right? I know I'm good at fighting, but I'm overzealous at times I think. Annabeth always said I never did things in half-steps."

"That checks out."

"Yeah well," Percy chuckled as Diana finished setting up her pieces, "I'd always try for some grand gesture or fantastic date and she'd have to pull it back together with logic. It was nice, having someone in my life to do that."

"Describe one to me," Diana said before backtracking, "if you're okay with that."

Percy looked thoughtful, "Well, I think some of the best ones were the ones that we just came up with out of the blue. I mean, sure, we had a date in Paris once and that was fun, walking around and looking at architecture, but I think the ones that stood out were the ones that we just said "fuck it" to and went and did. I remember planning one on a really windy day and deciding that we should go into a store and try to make the weirdest kite we possibly could that could still fly. We had fifteen or so minutes or something to just grab a bunch of stuff before we came back to the beach and tried to make and fly them. Didn't make much sense, but it was fun as hell."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised that you'd choose something like that," Diana laughed, "And how did it go?"

"Uh," Percy looked awkward at that, "really well I guess? We'd planned on meeting up with a bunch of our friends that night but we sort of got sidetracked and didn't end up going anywhere."

He couldn't stop himself from blushing, while Diana blinked a few times, "That wasn't exactly what I meant, but I'm glad you had a good time, I think?"

"Oh," Percy looked like he was about to die on the spot, having suddenly realized what she'd actually been talking about, "You were asking how making the kites went, huh?"

"I was," Diana nodded slowly, "But I suppose I'm not exactly surprised. That's the natural progression of a relationship and you've already alluded to it before, albeit under very different circumstances."

Percy stared down at the board, still clearly flustered. He opened his mouth to say something, before closing it. He looked a little helpless as he tried to figure out what to say. Really, Diana thought it was cute, even if she tried to ignore the slight pang of jealousy. Still, she couldn't stop herself from laughing as Percy sat there, looking not all that different from a lost puppy. That seemed to break the tension a little.

"What?" Percy asked a little helplessly.

"Nothing nothing," Diana giggled, waving him off, "You're just cute."

"That's the takeaway from all this?"

"It is," the goddess smiled easily, "You are your own person Perseus. I know that very well, and I think you know me well enough to know that I don't particularly care if you slept with your then-girlfriend."

She let that sink in before adding something almost as an afterthought, still clearly intent on teasing him, "Though I don't exactly want to hear about it."

Percy sighed, "Sorry about that."

"So long as you spare me the details, we'll call it even," Diana laughed, "Now, I believe we were playing a game?"

"Yeah," he rubbed his head, "where were we in that?"

"You were setting up your last town," the goddess supplied helpfully. Percy sighed softly before moving so that he could adjust his pieces, "Are you okay?"

"Ah," Percy looked visibly tired, "Just feeling like an idiot."

Diana nodded, understanding that he didn't feel like talking, "Then maybe I could interest you in getting in the water?"

"Are you sure? We just started playing a game."

"There's plenty of time for us to do that in the future, and you look like you need it right now."

She wasn't wrong about that. It was plain to see that his mind was clouded over, and she was more than happy to help him feel a little better. If that meant getting in the water, so be it. It wasn't like the goddess actually minded anyway either, so it was a sort of win-win. Still, she was slightly concerned, up until he broke their silence, "You know, my stomach was feeling a little weird when you healed me yesterday. Can't really explain it."

"Oh," Diana said, surprised by his sudden exclamation, "Any idea what caused it?"

"Not too sure," Percy shrugged, "Probably just nerves though. Or maybe you ended up healing something else at the same time? Who knows?"

"I doubt the second part, but who's to say. It's more Apollo's skill than it is mine."

"Yeah," Percy nodded, "Sorry. I know I just kinda started speaking."

"Any reason why you're apologizing?"

"Didn't want to sit in silence, I guess? Head's a little loud right now, so I figured I could distract myself."

The moon goddess understood that well enough, "What could I do for you?"

"I'm enjoying talking to you right now," Percy said easily, "Though I wouldn't mind walking a bit."

"We never did get up to get in the water," Diana nodded. Percy paused for a moment and the two sat, staring at the fire.

"True," Percy smiled a little, glancing up at the sky, "I'm sure we'll get there at some point tonight."

"Why do you think you started hunting?" Percy asked curiously, completely shifting their conversation. Diana looked up from the fire in interest.

"I couldn't tell you honestly. I think it started as a competition with my brother. Or maybe I was just compelled to do it. That's probably a better question for Artemis."

"Huh," Percy shrugged, "but you also like to hunt, don't you?"

"I do," Diana nodded, "Monsters mostly. People occasionally. I used to hunt animals but I find it hard to justify killing more than what I need."

"What do you mean?"

"I had no need for every boar or bear that I hunted and so I stopped. I could certainly simply replace them to keep their population steady, but I hardly see a point. That's not to say I wouldn't hunt them, but if I'm going to, it'll be because I'm going to use every part of them."

"Like to use their bones and stuff too?"

"Sure. There are many useful things that you may find in a body. But, I only have so much use for it. I find it hard to justify doing so for pleasure."

"What do you mean?"

"For one," Diana began to explain, "Even though I enjoy hunting, I prefer a target that is challenging. When I was younger, animals sufficed and I'd simply replace them so that I wouldn't affect anything. But as I grew and got better, there was less fun in it. As awful as that may seem, I simply got bored."

"But you don't hunt them in excess, and you can just…" Percy made a face, "does it make sense to say that you can regrow them? Or like, rebirth them?"

"I suppose," the goddess laughed, "it's a matter of semantics I imagine."

"Guess so. Point being, if you're not having any impact, what's the issue?"

"I think that it is wrong to interrupt natural cycles when there is no need," Diana said simply, "especially for my own pleasure. I grew less and less satisfied as I aged for that reason. If I, an embodiment of nature, am killing something for my own pleasure, am I truly being impartial as nature is supposed to be?"

"I guess not, but there's no net harm either," Percy countered.

"There might not be, but I think it is the concept of the matter. I do not think I should do something that would have consequences for other people simply because of my status. I think you can agree with that. My nature as a goddess does not somehow excuse me from my actions, even if they do amount to a net zero."

"In some aspects I guess," Percy rubbed the back of his head, "but I think it's a little different. I think that if you applied that logic to your hunters for example, saying they couldn't go in certain places of the camp that you could, purely because of status, would be wrong. There's a net zero technically, but it's not right because you're discriminating against them. But with animals, if you're killing them and just replacing them as they were, what's different?"

Diana seemed to consider that for a moment before responding, "Tell me Perseus, what makes an animal different from my hunters?"

"They're animals?"

"Then why do you not eat fish?"

"Because I can talk to them," Percy seemed confused for a second before it dawned on him, "but it'd be the same for you then, wouldn't it?"

"It would," Diana smiled, "they are no different from my hunters in that sense. I converse with them freely, and they are just as capable of emotion."

"But then how do you eat them?" Percy asked curiously.

"An interesting question that I'm not sure I can properly answer. This may only make sense to me because I'm the one saying it, but to answer that, I do it because there is no pleasure in it. Not in the sense of a meal, rather in the sense of the killing of an animal. It is natural for an animal to die, and they will. But I will not kill them. I will not interfere with that cycle. That is why I do not hunt them anymore. I may be able to negate the effects, but is it right for me to do so simply because I can?"

"Yeah I think I get that, but would it be any different if I did it instead?"

"This may sound conceited, but I do not intend for it to. To explain it, I think that it is because it is not your domain. You are simply part of the cog, where I am more than that. Does that make sense?"

"I think so?" Percy paused for a moment, clearly thinking through it, "would it be fair to say that you're like a queen in that sense? You could murder someone, just as one of your subjects could, but only you'd be able to get away with it. Course, there's not a net zero there exactly, but you'd be able to do it because of who you are."

"It is not an exact one to one, but I think it suffices," Diana laughed, "it is a privileged issue to have, I think."

"I mean, yeah. You're literally a goddess who can look down and watch us lesser beings scramble around beneath you."

The goddess swatted him with a laugh, "I did not say that!"

"No but I think it still fits," Percy chuckled softly. She hit him again and he just smiled, "There's nothing wrong with that. It's just the truth."

"In the same way you don't like hearing about your accomplishments, I do not enjoy having my status thrown around. Goddess I may be, but I'm not special because of it." she let her hand rest on him after smacking him, slowly transitioning into slowly tracing circles on the warm skin.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Percy grinned, "That, and because you're really strong and I really like that."

Diana blinked, realizing that he didn't understand what he'd just said, "I did win our little monster killing competition yesterday."

"And quite handily at that," Percy said, recalling the absolute havoc that the goddess had left in her wake, "what was your favorite monster to hunt?"

"I don't think that I have one," Diana shrugged, "though there have certainly been interesting ones. Many are simply just older Greek monsters that few might remember."

"That's cool," Percy agreed, " It's kinda interesting to me now that we're out hunting for greek monsters. I've always wondered about killing things like those cryptids or weird supernatural creatures. I used to have dreams that I was being hunted by them. Guess I kinda was though."

"It is interesting to think of how many myths stemmed from real occurrences."

"What do you mean?"

"Like the ideas of older cultures. Many of their superstitions stem from seeing actual monsters and not understanding. That is how many folk tales started. Clear sight used to be more common in mortals, likely because there was less need for them to make sense of the world and more need for them to survive. So, a group that was out hunting would see a monster, say a cyclops, and call it something else, not understanding what it was. Of course, there were also cases where they'd discover a monster first, like here in the Americas before any of the gods knew of them. The wendigo is one such example of that. A mortal found one for the first time, named it, and it became the widely adopted term for it."

"What?" Percy looked up from the fire quickly, looking a little surprised, "Have you seen one before?"

"Many years ago, I stumbled across something that many Americans would call a wendigo, yes. Why do you ask?"

"They're real?"

"As real as any monster is," Diana shrugged.

"That's creepy."

Diana stared at him for a second, "Why is that?"

"I don't know. I just feel like that's awful. And they're definitely not Greek, right?"

"Not entirely, but it is not much different either. New monsters are born as time passes. These creatures are no different."

"But still," Percy said, "I guess it's weird because so many people have stories of them and they're actually real. I used to read about them as a kid and they always scared me."

"They're no less real than a drakon or a hellhound," Diana explained, "But I understand what you mean. It must be rather disconcerting. I admit I was rather off put when I first stumbled across it."

"Can't imagine it was pretty."

"Definitely not," Diana agreed, "but it was not the worst prey either."

"You're braver than I am."

"Don't say that," Diana laughed, "are you scared?"

"No."

"Somehow," Diana grinned, seeing the young man stare into the fire, "I don't believe you."

"I'm not," Percy said softly.

"Aww," Diana teased him a little, "you don't have to lie. It's okay to be scared, I'll protect you."

Percy just grumbled as the goddess laughed. She spoke again, "Are you going to have trouble sleeping tonight? Do you need me to hold you?"

"I can think of worse things."

Diana froze, "What?"

"Well, I do sleep better around you," Percy said absentmindedly, "so I'm not going to turn you down."

Diana nearly forgot about that whole "impulse control" thing and would have dragged him straight towards his room had Percy not started talking, "Like I know I joke around about being scared of monsters and everything and I'm not, but sometimes the dreams get to me. It's nice waking up and having you there with me. Makes me feel better. That was one of those things I valued that you were asking about earlier, you know?"

The goddess felt a surge of warmth flow through her, "All you need to do is ask."

Percy paused for a moment before speaking, seemingly surprised, "Wait. What? That doesn't bother you?"

"Should it?"

"It's not exactly normal."

"Yes because you and I are just the epitome of normality," Diana laughed, tugging on his arm so that he was sitting basically against her, "I'm more than happy. You help me sleep too."

"But you don't need to sleep," Percy looked at her questioningly.

The goddess just hummed, "Perhaps not, but it is enjoyable."

"Would that make me your teddy bear then?"

"I suppose it would," Diana laughed, watching as her companion went back to staring at the fire, "something on your mind?"

"Couple things, yeah."

"Anything worth sharing?"

"Not sure yet actually," Percy said, taking a deep breath immediately after, "just the usual mopey sentiments I guess."

"Mopey, huh?"

"Yep," Percy nodded before seemingly cheering up a bit, "I don't know if you've noticed but I do love to brood."

"I think it's more akin to sulking but what's the difference?"

"Ha-ha," Percy mock laughed before a smaller, genuine smile came to his face, "and for the record, brooding makes me sound cooler so we're going with that one."

"Whatever you say, Perseus," Diana smiled, "I suppose people do love that emotional baggage you carry around."

"Do they?"

"I think that they do so as long as it doesn't consume you. People like those in touch with their emotions."

"Mmm yeah," Percy chuckled, "Me. In touch with my emotions. You say it like I wasn't completely obvious to my anger - which I feel the need to point out - was directed at myself of all people."

"Ah," Diana tapped her chin, "I suppose that is a rather good point. Still, your charming personality makes up for it."

"Guess it's worth something then."

"I think most would kill to have a fraction of your character."

"Stop that," Percy waved her off, causing the goddess to laugh.

"Then stop putting yourself down."

"Alright alright," he conceded, "you win."

"As I usually do. What do I win?"

"What do you want?"

"Ah I think I'll have to take you up on that offer from earlier."

"Works for me," Percy seemed slightly confused but he rolled with it anyway..

"You get to be held, and I get a personal space heater," Diana smiled, "a true win-win."

At that, he seemed to understand, "Ah. Yeah. Thanks."

"For what?"

"For doing that," Percy said softly, "For the record, you don't actually need to hold me or anything. That was a joke. I really do sleep better when you're around but I wasn't actually thinking when I said it and I did that thing where my mouth works faster than my brain and it just slipped out and I don't want you to feel weird about it or like you have to because I really like you and I don't want to fuck up this whole friendship thing and-"

"You're rambling again, Perseus. As we just discussed," Diana cut him off as she pushed him a little before pulling him back into her. "I benefit as well. And even if I didn't, it's nothing to me if it means that you sleep even marginally better. I know that I do. And don't worry. You know very well that I'd tell you if I wanted or didn't want something."

"Really?"

"Definitely," Diana laughed easily, having half the mind to just spill her heart to him at that very moment. Oh how she just wanted to show him what she truly felt. Honestly, he was going to be the death of her. Cuddling at night was going to be torture. Lovely, so wonderfully amazing welcomed torture, but torture none the less. The goddess would consider herself lucky if she made it longer than a week without jumping him. Oh well. She would deal with that when the time came. Or maybe she'd act and let Artemis deal with it.

Then again, he hadn't exactly said anything about "cuddling" per se. Oh well. She was going to run with that idea anyway since she had no intention of disavowing herself of that notion.

Huh. I dunno what it's been recently but I've been in a funk. I like parts of this chapter but I don't like it as a whole. There are fun moments and all that, but I've spent a lot of time workshopping it and it hasn't turned out exactly the way I wished. Anyway, I'm a bit strapped for time so I won't be able to respond to reviews so I'm sorry about that. I do love being able to talk to you guys but it's been hectic for me unfortunately. Anyway, hope you guys like the chapter better than I do. It's all over the place tonally, but I think there are good parts. I do wish I was able to make it a little more homogenous though. Oh well. Enjoy hopefully!