A Christmas oneshot split into two parts cause I'm not good at updating. Basically another way of thinking about Christmas.

Festive spirits

The sun rose on Christmas morning and as the rays began to pierce through the flap of her tent Artemis still hadn't risen. Usually on Christmas she would have been the first person up, making a huge Christmas breakfast while watching the youngest hunters open their presents from Santa, the older ones supervising them of course. However, by this time most of the hunters should have opened all their presents by now and the older ones would already be beginning work on prepping the humongous Christmas feast ready for this evening. Yet here she was sulking in her queen sized bed wishing the day away. How could she not see the signs when they were so obvious for the last month?

Let's explain for a second. Last night Artemis had finally lost it with her boyfriend, on their first Christmas as a couple...

Last night

It was bleak mid winter so obviously as soon as the two of them had entered the tent Percy shut the flap immediately to conserve heat, Artemis hated sleeping in a cold tent. Though as soon as he turned round from completing his task he was met with the face of a wrathful goddess. They had just come back from the Christmas Eve bonfire which goes on forever so both parties were slightly tired from all the festivities. Gulping slightly while edging towards his girlfriend who, despite being in a Mrs Clause suit which he thought made her look adorable, was ready to kill him by the looks of things. "Everything okay?"

"What is your problem?" The clearly very angry deity demanded in a frosty voice he had only heard when he had witnessed men who had pissed her off lose a vital organ. Fortunately for him however, she was not holding one of her hunting knives rather, had them resting on her hips just above them instead. Turning slightly to seal the flap, sensing an argument brewing and not wanting to be overheard.

"What do you mean...?" The demigod replied cautiously, turning to face his girlfriend while taking off his large leather and fur overcoat. He had an idea where this might be going and if he was right this was going to go down like dynamite in a country pancake, judging by the look on her face.

"What. Is. Your. Problem. Perseus?" Artemis repeated, punctuating every word taking a step until she was right in front of him, her face so close he could feel her harsh breath as she exhaled. It was at this point he knew he was in for it as Artemis hasn't used his full name since he was 14, almost three years ago. "You've been acting weird for over a month, you haven't once partaken in any of the Christmas activities of your own volition, you grimace whenever you receive a festive greeting and you blatantly refuse to join in with decorating the camp."

"I don't know what you me-" Percy said trying to feign ignorance after she had finished her rant. Instead of calming the situation as intended it only served to enrage the goddess in front of him, causing her to slam one her hunting blades hilt deep into the mahogany desk beside them putting a large crack straight through it. Turning back to him, those silver eyes glaring at him with a fury he had not seen before.

"DON'T BULLSHIT ME, JACKSON!" The goddess yelled, eyes literally blazing with silver fury, her knuckles going white on the grip of her knife. Taking a breath to calm down slightly, though still keeping a firm hand on the knife, she looked him in the eyes before continuing. "Christmas is a special time of year for me Percy, for starters I was the one who literally invented it. But really it's one of the few times a year that my hunt really acts like a family rather than handmaidens and a mistress, no more milady's and all that other crap. It's refreshing, you know?" To which the demigod nodded his head as he watched he begin to pace around the room twirling her knife as she did so. "And while others may not notice it, I do. I know you Perce, and I know when you're faking it. You haven't smiled in over a month, you haven't once of your own volition joined in with the festive activities, hell you wouldn't even sing Mariah Carey with me! It's literally my favourite part of Christmas!" She let out another sigh as she casually tossed her knife onto their bed before leaning against the now severely damaged desk and turning to lock eyes with him. Her voice barely a whisper she continued, "Is it that you don't trust me Perce?"

Gazing into the goddesses' luminous eyes, he saw that his girlfriend was genuinely hurt by his actions. He was the one causing her pain, something he swore never to intentionally do. Absent-mindedly she fiddled with the leather bracelet he had made her for her birthday, twisting the silver deer head on it back and forth to try and ease her nerves, which only made him feel worse. While these may only seem like two little things, this was Artemis's equivalent of balling her eyes out and screaming at him, she was a few thousand year old warrior goddess after all. In an attempt to reassure her he rubbed the back of her hands as he responded. "Of course I trust you Art', you are my world. I would put my life in your hands any day, because I love you and trust you Artemis"

Apparently this was also the wrong thing to say because the moment he did she violently ripped her hands away and her glare returned, intensity increased tenfold. Balling her fist up she took in a deep breath while a single glimmering tear rolled down her cheek, falling silently to the floor unwilling to disturb the tension between them. "Then why won't you let me help you? Why do you keep smiling with us even though I can clearly see that it's killing you on the inside? Why is it every time I try to fix the problem you cover it up again? Why is it that every time I ask if you are ok you say you are 'fine' when you are clearly anything but?" She yelled, starting off at a reasonable volume before slowly raising her voice to a level he was glad he had shut the tent for. Dropping her voice back down to a speaking volume she turned away from the demigod to look to the other side of the room to hide the tears now streaming down the prideful Argotera's face, instead looking at a picture of them last year at the top of the Eiffel tower; young, dumb and in love. Trying to remain stoic and cold she continues, voice wavering on every word. "Why do you keep lying to me?"

Hearing this tirade hit Percy hard with how much she cared about their relationship and how deeply this was affecting her. Sure, he knew she loved him but he never imagined she knew him well enough to call his bluff when literally everyone else would buy it, even those who had know him far longer. However, that being said there was one thing that he could not stand was being accused of lying to her. That was crossing the line of trust. "I would never lie to you, Artemis. Never have, never will do. Any other deity I will sell bullshit any day of the week, demigods I will tell them whatever they need to hear whether that be truth or something to calm their nerves, and mortals, they don't stand a chance of knowing what is going on. But you I could never lie to, even if I wanted to." The demigod replied in a guarded voice, though one clearly holding affection for the goddess in front of him.

"Why do you keep saying you're fine then?!" The goddess defended not believing a word that came out of her boyfriend's mouth. "Cause you sure as hell aren't from what I've seen! Your smile never reaches your eyes, you avoid the festivities like the plague and you can't even say merry Christmas to the young ones let alone anyone else trying to get it out of you. So don't lie to me saying you're fine!"

"Well maybe saying I'm fine is the only way to make sure I am!" Snapped the demigod, finally fighting back in this argument, seeing as it was going down he might as well go all the way. The reaction somewhat shocked Artemis as she had never had Percy yell at her before but she listened wanting to know what was going on with him, even if it had to come from a fight. "Cause when I say I'm 'fine' it really means that I'm working through some shit but I got it handled, not that I'm okay. And while this may seem odd to you, being festive most certainly does not help. Because guess what? I HATE Christmas!" Percy finished yelling so loud he was glad he had shut the flap.

This revelation caused Artemis to stumble back in shock, completely blindsided by the fact that her boyfriend, the man she wanted to spend the rest of her immortal life with, hated her favourite day of the year. She was the one who made this day a festival for the western word; she named Santa's reindeer after those on her own chariot (at which point Apollo had to add Rudolf to the myth just to mess with her), she and zoe had been the ones to create eggnog for the first time, she came up with the tradition of stockings and giving presents to those you care for, she was the one who wanted her family to come together as one at this time, and she was the one who even invented Santa. Yet all those thoughts were simultaneously annihilated when she discovered the man she loved did reproach the feeling of love for the most festive time of year.

The distraught must have been evident on her face as it caused Percy to sigh, running his fingers through his messy black hair as he tried to fix the problem at hand. "This is why I didn't tell you, because I knew it would hurt you to hear it so I kept it to myself "

For the first time in over 300 years Artemis had been left speechless, not able to comprehend what was happening. Though unfortunately for Percy that period of dumbfoundedness only lasted a few seconds at most before the goddesses face became one of rage and betrayal. Artemis took it as a personal slant that he hated the holiday that she had so painstakingly nurtured to be the biggest celebration of the year for the western world. How dare he hate Christmas after all the hard work she had put in over the millennia?

"How can you hate Christmas? It's literally the best time of the year!" The deity screamed, throwing her arms up in the air as she yelled at him. This was met by a growl from the saviour of Olympus, who while was a tolerant man could not take his opinion being criticised on such a matter, when she clearly had no idea what she was talking about.

"Do you want the list?" The demigod spat out with contempt, losing his temper slightly too. The growl from his girlfriend told him that probably was the wrong thing to say but in the moment he couldn't find it within him to care. "Well maybe, it's because this holiday is completely fake. Like why do I need to meet and talk to relatives that I don't like, so I won't see all year on purpose, then when December comes around I have got to be nice to them for some unknown reason, when really I still want to floor them. And you can tell the feeling is mutual as they give the same fake smile back but both are bound by social convention to play nice for the day."

Artemis took to leaning on the desk again silently fuming but wanting to hear him out to know why he had been faking it all this month. Continuing on his rant, he passed furiously back and forth in front of their shared dresser. "Then again maybe tainted it has all become. Because while I can respect the get together of friends and families, who are close mind you, together for a meal the idea of giving gifts to each other on one day above all else infuriates me. A gift given should be received equally gratefully on any day of the year not just on an over advertised day, all it serves to do is put further pressure on those families who couldn't afford to and stress people out over buying presents purely for social convention. It has become way too commercialised, the act of gift giving. I've even seen it here in the hunt."

"My hunt has not been corrupted by those filthy mortal ways!" Artemis screamed, enraged at the blasphemous accusations of her boyfriend. How dare he discredit her sacred day? "And I will have you know that the act of giving at Christmas brings joy to millions of children on Christmas day."

"And bring sorrow to millions of others!" The demigod yelled back equally enraged by the topic he felt so strongly about. "Trust me, I speak from experience."

Startled by the contrasting view, Artemis was put off by the last part of her lover's rant. Never had she thought of all the joy she brought, some people could upset others. "What do you mean, Perce?"

"You wanna know the real reason that I loathe this day so much, Artemis?" He began having dropped his voice so it was barely above a whisper, staring off into space getting lost in past memories. "Well here it is, I never once experienced the 'magic of Christmas'. For me it was just an excuse for Gabe to take his self loathing out on me. To me every time I hear 'Merry Christmas' it's just a reminder of the slash of a belt on my skin, which really doesn't help when you live in what is basically a group of Santa's little elves from November onwards. To me every gift I see given is just a reminder of the wishes that only I would ever make come true. People say that Christmas brings out the best in people, however from my experience I can tell you that it also brings out the worst in them too."

By the end of his little monologue Percy had finished letting out 14 years of pent up frustration, he was gazing directly into the goddesses own sliver pools, his eyes now a dark shade of blue filled with years of hurt and pain, a single tear rolling down his left cheek passing over the scars that adjourned it. Artemis was once again fighting to restrain her own tears as she realised just how justified he was to hate this day. How had she not connected the signs? Every time he heard the seasonal greeting he flinched, every time he was asked about present advice he would shake his head before answering, every time he was invited to be involved he would walk away. Just then a horrific thought entered her mind, as she slowly approached her boyfriend whipping the tear gently off his face. "Have you ever had a good Christmas, babe?"

Percy let out a dry chuckle, shaking his head no. "Not a single year I can remember has been enjoyable. From age 3 through till 12 I was stuck for two weeks with the statue known as Gabe, tortured for every second of it. Age 13 there was no Christmas as both my mum and I had to work every hour we could to earn enough to pay off the debts that had built up from Gabe. 14 was a shit year as though we were getting support now from Paul and all the debts were paid off, I don't have to remind you of the grief caused by Zoe's passing." Stopping for a second to respect the fallen hunter, he continued. "At 15 I we were at full on war cause you can bet your bottom dollar that Kronos didn't take a break at Christmas so neither did we. I can't remember 16 thanks to her majesty the queen and that leaves us here, 17. The Christmas in which I've had the first major fight with the love of my life. So yeah, here it is Merry Christmas Artemis. I wish you all the joy in the world on this day because fates above now I won't get any."

"Baby I-" The goddess started in a gentle tone full of pity for the rough life the man in front of her had had yet still only be 17. She was cut off however by her boyfriend who gently raised her chin to give her a chaste kiss and a sad smile.

"It's alright Art, you weren't to know. As I have said before, I'm fine. I'll deal with it my own way." The Demigod said, to calm the goddess who had lost all traces of anger from her body. How could she be mad at him after that confession? Taking hold her hand he gave her another chaste kiss before stepping away towards the tent flap. "Goodnight, Artemis"

And with that Percy turned away and walked out the tent closing the flap behind him. They both needed a time to think so she didn't bother chasing him down, instead deciding to crash on her bed staring at the picture on her wardrobe of the two of them in Paris; young, dumb and in love and couldn't help but compare it to how they were now. On the most festive night of the year, separated due to some stupid argument from bottled up feelings. All she could do as she fell asleep was hope for some Christmas Miracle to set things right tomorrow.

So yeah here it is, hope you enjoyed it and all had a Merry Christmas. 

Part to will follow... at some point...