Chapter Text
Third PoV
It was a bash at Olympus, to celebrate the defeat of Gaia. Percy had left Annabeth's side to grab some punch, and when he returned, he saw her behind a pillar, going at it with a minor god.
Percy sighed and threw out the punch, exiting the main area. He sat down at the edge of Olympus, pulling out the ring he had made for Annabeth. Percy dropped it, watching the jewellery fall back to the mortal world.
"What would the hero of Olympus be
doing alone on this night, sulking in my sacred garden?" A goddess asked, startling him.
Percy stood, turning to face the goddess, who he recognized as Artemis. "You see Lady Artemis, after we were both made immortal, I planned tonight to propose to her. I just saw her going at it with some minor god, so I came out here, dumped the ring, and now I'm talking to you."
Artemis nodded. "A shame, really. You're a good male, yet your lover decided to betray you."
Percy laughed humorlessly. "Luke was right! I was stabbed in the back by whom I trusted most!"
Artemis smiled ruefully. "Do you see why I took my oath?"
Percy nodded, then said, "I would assume alerting you Eros is nearing is a good idea?"
Artemis turned just as Eros came into view. She spun back around and hissed, "Kiss me, now!"
Baffled, Percy pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers. After Artemis felt Eros's presence disappear, she pulled away, her cheeks tinged.
"I suppose I should explain then," Artemis started. "When someone swears to remain virgin forever, it doesn't make their lust go away. It just keeps building up until it overcomes their will to remain virgin. Eros- he's a god of lust, and has drawn many a goddess to his bed. I wish not to give myself to such a pig. I wish to at the very least give it to a decent male."
Percy nodded. "I can understand that. I didn't sleep with my former because I wanted to wait until marriage and financial stability. The things demigods never get."
"Do you wanna go back to my place-so nobody goes chasing after you?" Artemis asked. Percy nodded and she slipped her hand in his, flashing them to her palace.
Percy said, "Um, thanks for not killing me."
Artemis chuckled. "As I said, you're a good male. Besides, I never did properly thank you for releasing me from the sky." She noticed they were still holding hands and blushed.
Percy brushed a stray strand of hair behind Artemis's ear, then cupped her cheek and kissed her. When he pulled back, Artemis was blushing deeply, not meeting her eyes. Percy moved them over to a large couch.
"Percy..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say.
Percy nodded. "I'm sorry I disrespected you, Lady Artemis." He stood up and went to leave.
Artemis caught his wrist. "No...Percy...it's...stay..." She trailed off again.
Percy sat down and pulled her into his lap, kissing her cheek. "I know, Artemis. It's complicated. I understand. If there's one thing my time as a demigod taught me, it's that feelings are complicated."
Artemis was silent. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Percy sighed and got comfortable before getting some shut-eye himself.
Artemis awoke in the morning, the events of the previous nights coming back to her. She got up and changed into her preferred style of clothing-jeans and a t-shirt.
She left a fresh set of clothes out on the coffee table for Percy before going to the bathroom.
When Artemis came out, Percy was dressed in fresh clothes, still looking somewhat groggy.
"Ah, f*ck," Percy grumbled.
Artemis tilted her head in confusion.
"She thinks I don't know. Athena and Aphrodite're gonna kill me."
Artemis shrugged. "Go tell her. The longer you wait, the harder it gets."
Percy sighed and walked out onto the street. After around 5 minutes of looking, Annabeth came up behind him, dragging him over to the sidewalk.
"Where the f*ck have you been?! I was looking for you all f*cking night you f*cking idiot! And you smell like another woman! The nerve! You f*cking cheated on me, you bastard! First, you don't want to sleep with me, then you go f*ck some whor*?!"
Percy cleared his throat. "As far as I'm concerned, we were over when you started getting it on with that minor god last night. I'm not yours anymore, and you can't tell me what to do. You can't tell me that I'm being mean, by the way. I was gonna propose last night, ya know. Goodbye, Miss Chase."
Percy walked away, back to Artemis's palace. He kicked his shoes off and walked up behind Artemis, hugging her 'round the waist.
Artemis turned and led him back to the couch, where she sat in his lap. "Did she always treat you like that?"
Percy shook his head. "Not until after a couple of months. I thought it was normal though. Gabe always treated me like sh*t. Everyone at school except Grover treated me like sh*t. The kids at camp treated me like sh*t before I returned Zeus's bolt."
Artemis kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry you had to deal with all that."
"Don't be, Artemis," Percy said. "You were one of the first people to not treat me badly before knowing me."
Artemis noticed cuts on his arm. Organized, as though he had done them himself. Artemis asked about them, and Percy sighed.
He pulled a small knife from his pocket and set it on the table. "Everyone always said the life of demigods ended in tragedy. Sometimes I thought that whatever lay in the land of the dead was better than here."
Artemis saw a large gash on his arm, no longer bleeding, but not yet scabbed over.
"When I saw them," was all he said.
Artemis cleaned the wound and poured some nectar on it. Then she fed him some ambrosia.
"Percy Jackson," She mumbled, "The demigod who suffered from not only ADHD and dyslexia, but depression. The demigod that saved the world twice. The demigod that became immortal. The demigod that made the goddess Artemis wonder what it would feel like to be loved."
"I can show you," Percy rubbed circles in the back of her hand with his thumb.
Artemis looked up and rested her arms around his neck, kissing him.
