This is very much a test. I wanted this to be a one-shot, but if it goes well, it will be turned into a short story. Not that slow burn. Give feedback if you want, it will help if you wish for this to continue.

If there was anything Aphrodite knew, better than anything, was to have fun. Of course, she had a lot more qualifications, having a say in so many godly domains, but she really took pride in herself for knowing how to properly entertain herself. She played around in multiple ways, and scenarios, with men, women, the whole bunch. She was certainly not a whore, she had her standards, thank you very much. Conquering her took some effort, and by no means would the goddess of love be content with a person too easy to sway.

Never.

And going to nightclubs was a way to entertain herself, even if it depended on the night. But a Friday evening was not to be underestimated. Much could be done in the span of a single night, but the end of the week always brought the most interesting people together in one place.

The Village Vanguard. Not the most glamorous place in New York City, but it would be... enough. The places Aphrodite chose weren't random. Every night was different from the last and would also be different from the next. But yes, she could see herself in a jazz bar for tonight. While not exactly a nightclub... perhaps the moment called for calm. Things had been too turbulent for her taste in the last few years. Her avid discussions with Venus were still very vivid in her mind.

And now she stood in front of the bar, with its massive red and yellow sign and noises of the Seventh Avenue. Traffic was wild, and people were even wilder. Aphrodite herself chose a specific look for today. Of course, she did not have a defined appearance, at least not one of her choosing like the other gods. Whatever the heart desired would be what appeared in front of the person gazing at her, at least normally. Tonight, though, she resorted to a brunette look, not too pale skin, a leather jacket, and a black skirt, along with knee-high boots.

Because if she was gonna listen to jazz all night, she would need to get into character to do it.

Entering the bar, she already noticed the amount of looks she got. The place was full of people, and loud music, even if the music itself was quite soothing. Aphrodite was fortunate enough to find a seat, despite how full the bar was. A waiter soon came with the menu, and she quickly ordered a Martini cocktail. Of course, she would need to start the night well.

Looking around, the goddess noticed the number of couples already present at the bar, which made her pout. She wasn't interested in a threesome action, no, no. But it was hard to find many people not accompanied already. That made her pout. Did she make the right choice coming here? Surely her time hadn't been wasted.

That was her line of thought until setting her eyes on someone. A man. Raven hair, a jacket not too different from her own, blue jeans, and white shoes. Of course, it could be any normal Joe who just wanted some fun after a hard week of work, but one single feature made Aphrodite turn her complete attention to him when their gazes met.

Striking and unnatural sea-green eyes.

It had been a long time since she had thought of Percy Jackson. The boy – man, for that matter, he ought to be at least twenty-three by now – had last been in her head when, of course, she had heard about the breakup. The main source of gossiping in the last few years had been the wonder couple breaking up. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase both had been Aphrodite's enjoyment, during the love triangle with the oracle girl, Calypso, Reyna... it had been entertaining to watch hearts be torn, but it had also been enjoyable to see them connect so much. A man jumping to Tartarus to save his lover? An amazing – if tragic – story!

But that had been the beginning of the end by what she had gathered. The emotional scars from the experience had changed them too much, so much so that love itself couldn't heal them. While not separated on bad terms, they had been separated, and since then she hadn't reason to think about them, not after the wars had been over. Annabeth, for what she knew, had left the country, studying from abroad. Good for her. Terrible for all the work she had gone through during Artemis's capture to make the two grow closer together.

But Percy? Radio silence. There was nothing. And that brought a sense of excitement onto her. How could have he changed? The only time they had a proper conversation was in her limo, just outside that trash yard that belonged to her husband. And that had been when Aphrodite was in the company of Ares, someone not exactly friendly with the then-teenage boy.

But now, Ares wasn't here, and neither was that boy a teen. Really, during that first conversation, he barely managed to stutter words out of his mouth, and she could understand why. Instead of an awkward adolescent, Percy looked even more handsome than the last time she saw him at the Acropolis. Especially because he wasn't all dirty and ragged after a battle. The goddess noticed he was looking at a – expensive looking – watch, and lightly sighed. That almost seemed like someone stood him up, judging by his reaction. Interesting, of course. Aphrodite couldn't imagine who would ditch him. Surely no one related to the mythological world.

Their gazes met again, just as her drink arrived. Without diverting her look, she took a sip of her Martini, after all, she was quite good at looking intensely into one's eyes, usually causing the person to look away eventually. But she had to admit, Percy was a difficult one. It was like the stare took an hour, but Aphrodite relished it. She even slightly raised her eyebrow, if not an invite, at least an acknowledgment. Would he just come to her table? He surely wouldn't buckle easily under pressure while not prideful – not more than the average demigod for what she knew.

Aphrodite drank again from her glass. The alcohol made her feel better, even if it wasn't at the level of Olympian drinks. Dionysus wasn't skilled only in brewing wines. After a lot of deliberating in her head, Percy finally turned away, only to order something from the same waiter that had served her. To her surprise and fueling even more curiosity, Percy got up from his table and approached hers, sitting in front of her with a quite neutral expression.

For the first time in a while, she felt nervous. Usually, even when pretending, the goddess would never feel that. But this? This was almost a new experience. It felt real, even if she was disguised.

It wouldn't be hard to play along with her feelings.

"Um... hi?" She greeted almost shyly, feeling the weight of those sea-green eyes.

"Hey." Was his answer, keeping his neutral face. "It would be awkward if that wasn't an invite."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Indeed. But I guess it was. If you want it to be."

He shrugged. "I am already here, so I guess I don't have much of a choice." For some reason, she felt like he was almost inspecting her with his eyes. And not just in a "checking her out" sense, but if looking into her soul. Guess a lot could be done if you were the most powerful demigod of the time. "What's your name?"

"I'm Jessica," Aphrodite answered. She liked that name. It was her favorite to use when going out. "Yours?"

"Perseus. But you can call me Percy."

She raised an eyebrow. "Perseus? That's a unique name."

"It's Greek." His eyes brightened slightly.

"I like it," Aphrodite said, placing one hand below her chin. "And what brings you here today, Percy?"

"Eh, just the usual. Was waiting for a friend of mine to arrive, but I think she's late." He flinched. Friend? Was he lying to her? She couldn't sense untruthfulness in his voice.

"Only a friend?" She smirked, raising an eyebrow. It felt surprisingly natural to do all of this. She barely had to pretend. If at all.

Percy chuckled. "Yeah, only a friend. Don't worry."

"And what should I be worried about?" She asked almost sharply, eager to see his response.

He adjusted his posture and leaned over the table. "The same reason if you were to tell me you only came here to see a friend." He glanced over at her drink. "Is that Martini?"

"Mhm." She nodded. "You like it?"

"Not really. I'm more of a Manhattan guy."

Aphrodite once more nodded, drinking again. "I quite like Manhattan. But nothing can top a Martini to me."

"Shame on me for not liking it then." He smiled. "But really, why'd you come here?"

"Curious?" She answered, smirking.

His grin grew wider. "Of course. Am I supposed to lie here?"

"No, surely not." She spoke, not taking her off him. "Unlike you, I'm not planning to meet with anyone. I just came to have fun."

"And yet I'm here. Funny how destiny works, right?" He asked, causing her to once more raise her eyebrow.

"Destiny, you say?" She inquired, curiosity pumping through the roof. He sure was an interesting person. "You believe in that?"

He shrugged. "Moderately. Just some experiences in life that kinda make me believe some things are fated to happen."

"Hm..." Aphrodite took a sip of her Martini. "And what do you do with your life, Percy?"

"Right now? I'm just enjoying being back in the country. Some years of service, you know?"

The surprise she felt was very genuine. "Service?"

"Yeah. Served for a bit in Kuwait, then I got some jobs in Iraq, after that, I finished up in Syria, and now, I'm home." Percy told her with a smile. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Mainly because how come Ares never told her? Really, did he even know? Surely, right? War was his domain, after all. He ought to have known. "What about you?"

Aphrodite snapped back to the world, away from her anger at the god of war. "Oh, I'm just a secretary at an insurance company. Nothing as exciting as being a vet."

Percy let out a laugh. "Oh, I'm sure sometimes it can be like going into hell and back. I would never want to work at something like that. Don't get me wrong, I'm more of an adventurous guy."

She focused her eyes on him with a barely noticeable smirk. "Yeah? Is that why you chose to serve?"

In response, Percy shrugged. "Yeah. I needed to... you know, blow off some steam. Things had gotten quiet in my life. My teenage years were always very eventful..." A brief look of pain flashed briefly through his eyes. "Some bad stuff happened. I decided to go to the army... I guess that's it."

"What do you mean by eventful?" Once more she made a question, eager to see how much he would be willing to reveal. Of course, she had heard his tale, but that was it. Not specifics. And some stories were exaggerated, or at least she thought.

At that moment, Percy's drink arrived, and indeed, it was a Manhattan. Thanking the waitress, he took a sip before answering, "I wasn't exactly a model child. The problem always seemed to come in my direction one way or the other."

Aphrodite pursed her lips. That seemed to match what she knew of him. "But now you're... settled, so to say?" She asked with a hint of provocation.

"Ha!" He audibly laughed. "If only. No, life seems to stay just as adventurous as before."

She leaned forward, staring deep into his eyes. "I appreciate someone exciting. Who desires boredom, right?"

That stare, the one she gave him, was almost like a stab to the heart to many. Those who pretended to resist were only doing so out of pride, for the most part. How surprised Aphrodite was to see Percy facing her head-on, resilient as a shield. No, no, she wouldn't lose this battle. No matter who he was.

"Indeed. How adventurous are you, Jess?" Percy asked, and she smirked at the nickname. Not all were keen to call her that – and she rarely liked those who did anyway – but Percy... he was truly the exception here.

"I know every corner of this city, dear." She drank from her Martini. "Every place. I've seen so much. You wouldn't believe the stories I could tell you. We'd be here all night." And she wasn't lying, at all.

"Spending all night with you couldn't be that bad, right?" Percy said, escalating even further the adrenaline Aphrodite was feeling. In the past, the boy had been sheepish. This?

What a glow-up.

"Indeed. But your friend will be a nuisance, right?" She stated, half-annoyed at that one friend she didn't know. Of course, Percy was probably not going anywhere the next week or so, but at the same time, she did want to see how far the night would take them.

"Speak of the devil." He said, looking sideways towards the place's door. There stood a black-haired girl with short hair and a quite youthful face. Thalia Grace wasn't the person she was expecting to see, but Aphrodite felt a bit calmer. And less jealous too. "I have to go now. It was nice meeting you, Jess. If you'd want to catch up later..."

She smiled. "Absolutely. What's your number?"

In response, he too smiled, but his grin was an awkward one. "I kinda don't have a phone?"

This time, Aphrodite did fake her surprise. Of course, he wouldn't possess a cellphone, being a demigod and all. "Really? On this day and age?"

"Yeah." Percy rubbed the back of his head. "Look," He scrambled towards a napkin and grabbed a pen from his pocket. Not any pen, of course. She knew that particular pen, and Aphrodite was shocked to see the celestial bronze length that appeared out of thin air, only for Percy to cap the sword's handle, turning it into a normal pen again. She did not know how this would have appeared to an unsuspecting mortal, but pretending she didn't just see the man in front of her with a 3-foot-long Xiphos was much harder than faking surprise. He wrote some words and numbers on the napkin and gave it to her.

"That's my address. Come by anytime. I'm almost always home these days."

"I will. I expect to see you soon, Percy." She smiled seductively, and he returned a less daring grin.

"Same to you, Jess. Bye bye!"

"Bye."

And with that, he was gone, with Aphrodite watching him talking with the Grace girl. There was much inside her mind now, and... she would need some time to think about it.

And boy, was there a lot to ponder.