A/N. reviews!

"So the seven will be at the wedding... can't wait for the drama hehehe especially since Artemis is going with percy and more PERTEMIS fluff!" -Sankarea396

They will. I don't know if there is really gonna be drama though.

"Bruv there is no thing such a filler in fanfiction cus filler is non canon lower quality and isnt related to the story" -Bi bou

Nah, there still can be filler. None of this is really related to the main plot, and only exists to build up Percy and Artemis' relationship.

"Extream good can wait for no more for it is such goodnes i must config more of the" -Dobby the lobby

Thank you, here you go!

"couldn't stop myself, i read the whole story today. need more content assp lol" -Nanomanmc1

Here you go man!

Onto the chapter!

Chapter Twenty-Four

Artemis held the weird knife in her hands as she sat on her bedding in her tent. Her bed was just a bunch of blankets and pillows loosely stacked on top of each other, almost as if thrown together in a pile. It was hard to distinguish the bed from the rest of the blankets and rugs that covered the rest of the tent's floor. They would certainly be a fire hazard with the burning brazier in the center of the room, had it not been enchanted. With the fire crackling, and the blankets everywhere, there was almost no place as cozy as Artemis' tent.

She contemplated the knife, studying the detailing etched into the blade. A week had passed since she had gotten back from Hell, and it was now once again Wednesday. The Sun had just started to set, and the Moon was just starting its journey through the night sky. It was Wednesday, which meant it was date night, which was the reason for Artemis holding the knife.

Percy had told her that the knife was the tool that would transport her to Hell, and she had even seen him do it a few times. But she wasn't confident she could replicate the effect. She stood up and slowly let a breath out from her nose. She held the knife out and envisioned Percy's throne room—their throne room. She brought the knife down swiftly.

Where the knife's tip traced through the air, a black line followed, before widening and revealing the place she had just envisioned. The rift made no sound, which kind of unnerved her. She had never noticed the lack of noise before, but now, alone in her tent, with just the crackling flames, it was a bit unsettling.

She stepped through the rift and into the throne hall. The rift closed behind her. She sheathed the knife in the sheath strapped to her thigh. She looked around the throne room. Much like her tent, she was the only one there, with the only sound the flickering fire of the inferno raging behind the thrones. But unlike her tent, which was so cozy, the throne room gave off a cold vibe, despite said inferno.

She walked down the hall, to the left of the thrones and into the dining room. There was food on the table, but no one sat at it. Her eyes made their way to the stairs. Memories of the last time she was here, when she had carried Percy to his bed. Deciding that checking his room would be the best choice in the entire castle, she headed up the stairs.

She reached the top after a few minutes. Why did Percy have to have his room at the very top of the castle? The door to his room was cracked slightly open. She peeked in, not wanting to frighten him. Percy was hunched over a desk. He was tapping a pencil against the desk, staring at a piece of paper.

She backed away from the door and knocked on it quietly. A couple of moments later, she heard his footsteps coming closer. The door opened, revealing Percy. He was dressed in slacks and an undershirt. He was barefoot. "Hi, Artemis." He said. He turned around and walked back to the desk. He slumped down into the chair.

Artemis followed him into the room. "What are you doing?" She asked as she stood behind him.

Percy sighed. "I'm trying to write my Best Man speech for Nico and Will's wedding. So far, I got nothing."

"Hmm. I do not think I can be of any help."

"I know, and I'm not asking you to." He smiled at her.

Artemis walked over to the bed and sat down. "I will try to be. Do you have any ideas on what you want to say?"

"I feel like I should probably start with how I know him, right? Although, I'm not sure if I need to. I don't really know who all Will is inviting. I should probably do that."

"Were you overthinking this much when writing your vows for our wedding?'

"Worse. Much worse. At least Will isn't going to kill me if I say the wrong thing. Probably."

"I would not have killed you if you said the wrong thing."

"Really?"

"No, of course not." She paused. "I would have turned you into a jackalope."

Percy stared at her. A few moments passed before she smiled. "I am joking, Percy. You do not need to be so scared of me. I am not going to harm you unless you do something to earn it." She said.

"That's the thing, Artemis. I am not sure what actions you deem 'earning' harm. And that leads to me double guessing everything."

Artemis let out a breath. "Percy, do not worry. I do not. I do not think you can do anything that I would see as earning harm."

"Yeah, well, we'll see." Percy muttered and turned back to his blank piece of paper. "So was that a yes to an introduction?"

"I think it makes sense. Even if everyone there already knows you, it could be a little bit of light comedy."

"Okay." Percy said. He began to write, before stopping. "How should I introduce myself? As his friend? As his cousin? Or would that be weird since we're all technically related? You know what, I'm just going to stop before that train of thought gets any weirder." He stood up. "You know what, fuck this." He turned around. "You didn't come here to help me with a speech. I can finish this some other time. What would you like to do tonight?"

"I do not know. You are usually the one with the date ideas."

"Yeah, but I feel like I'm just forcing things on you without asking you what you want."

"Percy, you ask me if I want to do whatever it is that you suggest, and I say yes. I say yes, because I want to. That is not you forcing me to do things, but in fact the opposite. You offer me a choice, and I have been inclined to agree every time thus far." Artemis frowned. "I… I really scare you, don't I?" Artemis did not usually use contractions, but the revelation she had just unearthed had shaken her to her core.

Percy sighed. "Yeah, you do."

"I am… sorry. I did not know you were actually scared… I did not mean to… to make you fear me." She slowly stood up, her face a mixture of pain and regret. Her lips were slightly parted as breath passed through, her nose not working as her brain rapidly went through every interaction she and Percy had had since the announcement of their marriage. "I… I am going to go."

She turned to leave and started to walk out of the room.

"Artemis, come on. Come back. I'm sorry."

Artemis whirled around. "You shouldn't be sorry for a fucking thing. You have not done a thing to earn my ire, and yet I have scared you this entire time. You who have done nothing but be kind and patient with me. You have respected and agreed to my every request, and how have I repaid your kindness?"

"I wasn't as great as you're saying. I mean," He gestured around them. "I hid this from you for a while. It appears we have both made mistakes. We aren't perfect at this, and I don't think anyone expected us to be. Hell, it was shit fuckin' luck that got us here in the first place."

"What is your point?"

"Don't beat yourself up over this. I mean, yeah, you scare me, but despite that, besides a couple of jokes, you haven't really done anything that threatens me or my wellbeing. Most of it is your reputation, stuff you've done to other people in the past."

Artemis sighed. "I do not want to scare you. I… I want to…"

"You want to what?"

Artemis sighed. "I do not know. But I do know that, past our engagement, I did not want to scare you."

"So… before that, you wanted to scare me?"

"When we first met, yes, I will admit, I did want to scare you. While I did respect you and what you had done up to that point, I did not want you to try anything. But, my point still stands. I did not, I do not, want to terrify you. People who are married should not be scared of each other."

Percy sighed as he leaned against the desk, his arms crossed. "You know, back in Tartarus, I uh… I scared Annabeth down there. We were facing a goddess down there, Alkhys. And uh, we were desperate, so I uh, I took control of her poison and almost drowned her in it." He blinked away the memories. "I only stopped, because Annabeth was… she was scared of me. Terrified. And I know, after that, she could never look at me the same. She wouldn't say it, but I could feel her lingering glances, her brain replacing my image with the one in Tartarus." He sighed again. "Look, scaring someone you… well, I don't want to say care about, because I don't want to assume, but it doesn't feel good. But life is too short to dwell on it for too long."

Artemis stared at him. "I'm immortal, Percy. I have eternity to dwell on anything. And you will be too, so I recommend losing that mindset."

"I don't want to lose that mindset. If I lose it, I'll be nothing but depressed for eternity. And that isn't a life I want. This is why I didn't want to be immortal."

"Well, you do not really have a choice, Percy."

"I know, but I have a choice in how I view it and how I cope. The human mind was not meant to experience eternity."

"Your mind won't be human whenever you become a God. Your mortal body will be annihilated and rebuilt as a God. Maybe your coping mechanism will change, or disappear entirely."

"That… That is terrifying."

"Oh, I… I did not mean for it to be. Quite the opposite, actually. I hoped it would be comforting."

"In what world would that be comforting?"

Artemis remained silent.

"So… back to, uh, what started this whole thing, what do you want to do tonight?"

"I do not know."

"Okay." Percy sighed and sat back down in his chair.

"Continue writing your speech. I will help you."

"Artemis, that is not a—"

"We are spending time together, no? Is that not what a date is?"

"I mean, not literally, I don't think so? You don't have any ideas?"

She shook her head.

"Okay, um." He snapped and pointed at her. "Arcade."

"Okay." She rose from the bed. Percy stood up and unsheathed the knife. He slashed the air, creating a rift that revealed the New York City skyline. The moon shone overhead against the night sky. Percy gestured to the rift. "After you."

She nodded and stepped through the rift. Percy followed after her. She looked over the city and frowned. "It was morning when I left."

"Time flows weirdly in Hell. One of the reasons I need someone to come get me for our dates."

"No wonder." She muttered. "Why a rooftop?"

"So no one would see us step out of a portal?" He questioned.

"Like, those people?" She pointed at another rooftop a couple of buildings over. There was a party raving, people dancing to loud music."

"Shit. I forgot rooftop parties were a thing."

"How did you forget rooftop parties were a thing?"

"Well, I've been kinda busy lately. And I never really got to go to one, between school and saving the world and all that."

"Do you want to go?"

"What?"

"Do you want to go to the rooftop party?"

"I don't know if we can. It might be a private party. We can find out, if you want to."

"Percy, I am fine with whatever."

"Are you sure? I know parties aren't really your thing. Hell, I don't even know if they are my thing."

"Come on, let us go check it out."

"Okay." Percy opened the door to the stairs and gestured. "After you."

"Twice in a few minutes, remind me to compliment your mother next time I see her."

Percy smiled. "Will do."

He followed after her down the stairs, all the way to the ground floor. They walked out the front door and turned right. They walked down the block to the building with the party on the roof. They could hear the music from down on the street. They walked into the building, an apartment complex. There was an elevator directly in front of them as soon as they walked in. Percy pressed the button to call it.

They waited for a minute, watching as the digital number next to the door decreased until it finally hit one. With a ding, the doors opened. Artemis motioned towards the door. "After you, Percy."

Percy laughed. "Thank you." He entered the elevator, Artemis following behind him. Percy tapped the button for the fifth floor, the top floor. The sound of whirring gently filled the air, just barely heard over the sound of Mr. Brightside playing on the elevator's speaker. Percy started to softly sing along.

The doors opened, revealing a hallway. Artemis stepped out. "You have a nice singing voice."

"Don't lie, Artemis."

"Yeah, you are right, it was not good. But it was not bad either. Truely."

"Thanks. Let's find the stairs to the roof."

The sound of music came from above them. They were close. They walked down the hallway, passing by door after door. At the end of the hallway was a door with a sign next to it reading 'Roof Access'. Percy opened it and motioned for Artemis to enter. They walked up the stairs and got to the door to the roof and paused. Taped to the door was a paper that read, "Tommy's Bachelor Party- Private!"

"Oh shit." Percy said.

"Yeah, we should go."

They raced back down the stairs, down the elevator, and calmly walked out of the building.

"So… arcade?" Percy asked.

"Sounds good."

"I think there's one around here."

They started to walk down the street, looking for an arcade. People were walking along the sidewalk. A young, teenage couple passed them, holding hands. Artemis noticed this and slipped her hand into Percy's. He turned to her, and she smiled. He chuckled silently and held her hand.

They turned onto 42nd street and continued on. They passed by more people, before coming to a building. Percy grinned. "There we go, a Dave and Busters! Come on."

Percy and Artemis crossed the street and entered the Daves and Busters. There was a woman standing in front of a podium, dressed in the Dave and Busters uniform. She noticed them and smiled. It was a fake smile, one associated with any person working in customer service. "How may I help you?" She asked.

"Can we get a table for two?" Percy asked.

The woman tapped on her tablet. "We have a table available. Follow me." She picked up two rolled up napkins and led them into the restaurant.

"I thought we were going to an arcade?" Artemis whispered to Percy.

"Dave and Busters is both a restaurant and arcade. It has a bar as well."

"Ah."

They reached the table. The hostess placed the napkins on the table. "Your waiter will be with you shortly."

Artemis picked up a menu and gave it a quick look over before placing it on the table. Percy picked one up as well and studied it.

"Nico and Will's wedding is next week, correct?" Artemis asked.

"Yeah."

"What are you wearing?"

"A suit?"

"Well, yes, but I mean, what colors?"

"Uhh, I don't know. Probably white and black, like a normal suit, I guess."

"Do you want to match?"

"What are you thinking?"

Artemis's hand glowed for a second, before a silver tie appeared in hand. She offered it to him. "Here."

Percy took the tie and placed it in his pocket. "Didn't take you for one to want to match."

She shrugged. "I feel like trying something new."

A waitress came by. "Hi, my name is Becca, I will be your waitress for tonight. Can I get you started with drinks?"

"Yeah, can I get a coke?" Percy asked.

"Of course." The waitress turned to Artemis. "And you?"

"Can I get a Strawberry Watermelon Margarita?"

"Can I see an ID, please?"

Artemis reached into her pocket and pulled out her ID, before handing it to the waitress. She looked it over and handed it back. "I'll be back with your drinks." The waitress walked away.

Percy leaned back in his seat. "So…"

"So…"

"How've you been? What've you done recently?"

"We went on a hunt yesterday. A Gello."

"What's a Gello?"

"It's like a demon that harms women. Threatens their reproductive cycles, causes miscarriages, infertility, and kills infants. It's thought that they are sometimes created when a woman dies a virgin."

"Oh wow. Glad you got it. How'd you do it?"

"Well, we found evidence of one near an Amish community in Pennsylvania. Dead infants, more miscarriages than usual. So, we showed up, dispelled it, laid her to rest, and sent her to the underworld. What about you?"

Percy sighed. "Mostly sat around. Being the King of Hell is really boring. I mean, the only job I really have is to be down there. Sometimes I attend a meeting in which the Princes inform me of what's happening, which is almost nothing of note."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Surprise, demons do demonic things. I've been so desensitized to it, that nothing they tell me can phase me anymore. You know what Asmodeus told me the other day?"

"What?"

"One of his subjects fucked a dead animal. I didn't even blink when he told me that."

Artemis stared at him. "That is… wow."

The waitress came by with their drinks, and placed them in front of them. "Are you guys ready to order, or do you need more time?"

"Do you…" Percy asked.

"I am ready. You?"

Percy nodded.

"Okay, so what can I get you?"

Artemis went first. "I'll take the twelve ounce ribeye."

"And how do you want that cooked?"

"Rare."

"Okay." She turned to Percy. "And you?"

"Can I get the All American Smashed Burger, medium well?"

The waitress nodded. "I'll put that in and bring it out when it's ready."

"Thank you." Percy said.

LINE BREAK

"It is… very colorful. And loud." Artemis said, rubbing her ear as she looked over the arcade. The lights of the machines filled the room with many colors, as the chimes and dings invaded their ears. Percy, however, was focused on something else.

"You have… your ears are pointed. Like an elf's."

"Pardon?"

"Your ears. I never noticed, but they kinda come together at a point at the end. It's cool."

Artemis's face turned red, although that could have been the lights of the arcade. "Uh… Thanks."

Percy laughed. "Come on, I bet I can beat you at skeeball."

As it turns out, he could, in fact, not beat her at skeeball. He couldn't feel too bad though, almost no one could. She got a perfect score of nine thousand. Percy only got half of hers.

"Well, basketball is more my game." Percy said, eyeing the basketball game next to the skeeball machines.

"Yeah, is it?" She smiled.

"Yeah, it is."

"Well, let us see then."

Percy seemed to have forgotten one thing about his wife. Anything that involves aiming, she was amazing at. Which includes skeeball and basketball.

"Are you cheating? Using your godly powers or something?" Percy asked, grabbing his tickets from the machine.

Artemis laughed. "No, pure skill."

"Good game." He handed her the tickets. "Here."

"Those are yours." She held up her own tickets. "I have my own." She looked around the arcade and noticed something along the wall and walked over to it. Percy followed her. She stopped in front of a large booth looking machine with pictures of zombies on the side.

"What is this?" She asked.

"The Walking Dead."

"How do you…"

"Come on. Let's play it." Percy slipped into the booth and patted the spot next to him. Artemis slipped in next to him. "Alright, look, the goal of the game is to shoot zombies, using this." He tapped the crossbow looking contraption in front of them. "The zombies will appear on screen, then you shoot them."

Artemis studied the instructions on the board the crossbows were mounted to. "Grenades as well." She noted.

Percy swiped their game card on both sides, starting the game. Percy let Artemis choose the level. Artemis, possessing the pride all gods seemed to have, though, granted it was less than some of her fellow Olympians, chose the hardest level.

The game started with them waking up. They immediately moved outside to a courtyard, where some zombies were walking towards them, as well as attacking a bus. Percy and Artemis began to fire. A grin split Artemis' face as she pulled the trigger of the crossbow. Percy noticed and found himself enamored by her smile. So much so that he didn't notice the zombie approaching him. Not until Artemis shot it and turned to him. "You almost died. You are welcome."

Percy turned back to the game, his cheeks burning. "Thank you."

He shot a couple zombies. The bus was now on fire thanks to some random guy they ended up following. They guy started to throw molotov cocktails at them. They ended up chasing him until they reached a balcony. They guy ended up falling off and got eaten by the zombies below. They grabbed the battery and gave it to the girl they woke up with. They climbed some scaffolding but then the girl fell off, landing on the ground, where some zombies started to move towards her.

They started to shoot the zombies. But they weren't fast enough, and the zombies ended up getting to the girl and eating her, which failed the level.

Artemis turned to him, grinning. "That was fun."

Percy laughed. "I'm glad you liked it."

"What else do they have here?" Artemis wondered out loud and got out of the booth. Percy got out of the other side and walked around, to where Artemis was already walking over to the motorcycle racing games. They ended up playing it. When the race was starting, Artemis made a comment about the scantily clad woman who was waving the flag to start the race. Percy laughed. Percy actually won that game, much to Artemis' chagrin.

They played a couple more games, before they ended up at a photo booth. Artemis noticed that the machine didn't take the game card but cash, so she summoned a five dollar bill. She put a finger to her lips, the universal sign for being quiet.

The screen started a countdown. Percy and Artemis smiled. The camera clicked. The screen showed the picture for a couple of seconds before starting another countdown.

"Silly one?" Percy asked, to which Artemis nodded.

Percy stuck his tongue out while holding up the shaka sign. Artemis crossed her eyes and puffed her cheeks out. The camera clicked once more, before showing their picture, causing both of them to burst out laughing.

They calmed down as the countdown started once more. As they thought about what to do for their last picture, Artemis got an idea. She waited until the countdown was almost done, before leaning over to Percy and placing a kiss on his cheek. He froze in shock as the camera clicked. The picture was revealed, her kissing him on his cheek while he stared at the camera like he had just seen a ghost. Artemis burst out laughing again.

The screen asked how many copies of the pictures they wanted. She selected two. They waited for them to print, and took them when they popped out.

They got out of the booth, and Percy saw the crane games. He noticed in one of them was a stuffed deer. He walked over to it and swiped. Artemis followed him. "I'm really good at these." He said. He pointed at the stuffed deer. "I'm gonna get you that."

He immediately failed the first attempt. "They're rigged."

She snorted. "Of course they are." She said, sarcastically.

"No, for real, they are. They're programmed to not close as hard if someone has already won recently. But watch, I'll get it this time."

He tried again, carefully moving the crane over the stuffed deer. As he did so, he yawned. He pushed the button and watched as the crane came down. It clamped onto the deer and pulled it up with it. Percy didn't celebrate until it dropped the deer into the hole. He clapped. "Hell yeah."

He knelt down and pushed open the little door and produced the stuffed deer, before standing and offering it to Artemis. "Here you go."

She took it and studied it. She smiled slightly. "It is cute."

Percy yawned again.

"You are tired. You should go to sleep."

"I'm fine. There's more to do."

"No, Percy. You are going to go home and sleep, okay?"

Percy sighed. "Okay."

"Good." She held out her hand. "Come on, I will walk you to a place where you can go home safely."

Percy took her hand. They walked out of the Dave and Busters and into the alleyway next to it. There was no one in the alley, so she gave the all clear. Percy unsheathed his knife and slashed the air. Before stepping through, he turned to Artemis.

"See you next week for Nico and Will's wedding, right?"

She nodded. "You will."

"Okay. Good night Artemis."

"Good night Percy."

He stepped through the rift, and back into his bed room in Hell. The rift closed behind him. He took his shirt off and tossed it on the floor. He reached into his pocket and took out the game card as well as the photo strip. He looked at the photos and smiled. He placed both items on his nightstand. He stared at the photos, smiling like a dopey idiot. The pictures filled his chest with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

He got in his bed and slipped under the covers. He was asleep almost instantly, with good dreams accompanying him.

LINE BREAK

Artemis appeared in her tent, the warmth of her brazier instantly greeting her. She walked over to her desk that was placed along the wall. She placed the photo strip on it and smiled.

Then she walked over to her bed and laid down on it. She placed the stuffed deer near her pillow and smiled at it, before closing her eyes, and much like her husband in another realm, falling asleep instantly.

Good dreams accompanied her as well.

A/N. Sorry this chapter took so long. I had a really shitty week last week, like really bad. Hope all the Pertemis fluff makes up for the long wait. Next chapter is Nico and Will's wedding, then another fluff chapter, and then we start the second arc, which I am excited for.

Thoughts?