Chapter 13: Date Night

So I guess I'm a senior now, even though I haven't been at school for months. Thankfully I'm on break now, so I'll hopefully be able to write more, but that won't necessarily mean more updates. I'm writing a twelve chapter Halloween story as a side-project that I wanna get finished in time for October 31st. Considering it took me two months to get 10 chapters through a story I was almost solely focusing on, I don't wanna risk missing the deadline, so I'm starting it now. I'm already 3k words into what's gonna be roughly 36k, so it's going good. The homie @Paige_9900 gave me a cruel idea for next chapter, but this one can be good ol fashioned Pertemis.

Chapter 13: Date Night

Percy was watching Netflix when his family walked in the door, his daughter with her hand holding Artemis' fingers tight. He paused the movie and turned around on the couch, intent on greeting them warmly with a smile and a wave. When he saw them however, his face dropped and he sat up.

Selena grinned at him widely, but he noticed something was off about her smile. There was a large gap in the front of her teeth. He beckoned her over worriedly. "Sweetie, how'd you do that?" He asked with concern, but Selena was anything but concerned. "I fell over!" She told him happily, showing him her palm.

When Percy saw the three teeth in her hand, he pulled her over and opened her mouth wide, checking for anything he might've missed. Aphrodite came over and brought her away, quickly explaining to him. "They're not hers, Artemis got them for her." She told him.

The confused young god looked over to his fiance worriedly, who quickly mouthed to him 'I'll tell you later.'

Percy stood up, noticing the time. "You ready for our little 'date'?" He asked with a smirk, embarrassing the older goddess. She shook her head. "I gotta go have a shower." She said, and he nodded. Percy walked over to Artemis, grabbing her shoulders and pecking her lips lightly. "Wear something nice, I have a feeling the place I'm taking you doesn't allow jeans and silver parkas." He told her with a slight smile.

Aphrodite also looked at the time. "Well, I guess I'm having you tonight, sweetie." She said, looking down towards her daughter. The little girl looked up at her, before realising Aphrodite was behind her, so she ended up tilting her head back almost a full 90 degree angle and smiling up at her. "Yay!"

Artemis followed her previous declaration by heading upstairs to have a shower in their -or rather, Percy's room. Artemis smiled at the mental slipup. Sure it should've made her cringe and hate herself for saying such a thing, but she knew it was a good sign. She was finally comfortable. She finally saw Percy as something more than a friend she happened to be marrying. He was the man she slept in the same bed as, the man she kissed, the man she knew she could love in no time.

She made sure to lock the door to the bedroom since she planned on coming back out, and entered the bathroom. The goddess did not want to have too long a shower, just do all her necessary cleaning. With the water running hot, she stripped down to her bare skin and stepped inside.

The warm water didn't feel as good as it should have considering she'd been in desert country all day, but it wasn't unbearable either so she went with it. Better than showering in ice-cold water, anyhow.

She cleaned up in no time, and turned the handle back to off. She stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around herself. The goddess of the hunt stared at her reflection, wondering briefly on style choices. She considered makeup, but that thought was instantly suppressed. No restaurant required women to be wearing makeup, and she felt she never looked good with it on unless it was the bare minimum like eyeliner which she wore for Olympian gatherings like balls. A good silver over her eyes could never look bad when paired with her usual silver dress.

Next she moved onto her hair, and that was easy. Artemis really only wore her hair in two styles, unless it was a special occasion. Simply braided over the shoulder or just left alone. Her hair looked fine naturally. Perks of royal godly blood. It was really hard for her to look bad.

Once she was properly dry, she left the bathroom and entered the bedroom, where she tried to figure out what to wear. As she walked over to the temporary drawer with all her clothes in it (she had yet to move her full wardrobe and personal belongings into Percy's home), she soon came across a problem. She had about five pairs of clothes in there, one pair of pyjamas, three different types of jeans and shirts, a blouse and some leggings. Plus some random sweatpants just in case.

Of course, her saving grace arrived in no time, as she heard the doorknob jiggle from behind her. She whirled around, thanking Fate she remembered to lock it, otherwise Percy might've got an accidental sneak peek. As the goddess sighed in relief, she turned around, only to hear a strange noise. The sound of the lock clicking.

The door swung open, and who else would it be besides Aphrodite, holding a hairpin with a triumphant smirk on her face. "Ah, good. You haven't started without me. Now..." She said, stepping closer to the goddess.

Artemis watched as Aphrodite looked through her drawers, before shaking her head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. I know you were never one for fashion, but really? No dresses or anything!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration. Artemis' eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms, careful not to lose her towel.

Aphrodite shook her head again. "No matter, I've had a dress picked out for you for a while now. Here." She said, snapping her fingers. A dress appeared in Aphrodite's hands, and Artemis' eyes widened. It was silver, like most of her dresses, but this one was more elegant than any she had seen, save for the wedding dress tucked away in her closet at home.

It was strapless and sparkly, and was about mid-thigh length. She took it from Aphrodite and thanked her. Thankfully the goddess helped get her into the dress comfortably, and she looked at herself in the mirror. "Now, do you have any silver eyeliner?" Aphrodite asked, making Artemis' head turn to her.

Artemis was ready maybe half an hour later, once Aphrodite was satisfied with her younger companion's appearance. She left the room and walked downstairs, where Percy waited patiently by the door.

He was dressed simply. A nice grey suit jacket with a white shirt underneath. His tie was blue, and was clearly not done properly, as it hung loosely around his neck.

His mouth suddenly became barren as he looked up at her descending the stairs, and his palms began to sweat slightly. Selena ran up past him, meeting her mom at the bottom of the stairs. "You look pretty, mama." She told her, bringing a smile to Artemis' face. "Thank you, Selena. You too." She complimented, though Selena had not dressed up or anything.

Percy came over to greet her. "You really do look beautiful. I feel like I'm underdressed." He said, looking down at his lazy suit. Artemis smiled and fixed his tie, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "There, now you're not." She told him.

Percy smiled and held out his arm for her to take. "Shall we go, milady?" He asked like a gentleman, and she smiled. Artemis took his arm, and he led her towards the door. "Don't wait up!" He called out to his former lover and child, before shutting the door behind him.

The restaurant he took her to was lovely, a place in San Diego. It had a French name Artemis couldn't remember, but thankfully she could read the menu. Britain had once been the home of the Flame of the West, and much of the upper class during that time could fluently speak French and some even German, so she had obviously learned both.

"Uh, Arty, do you know what that is?" He asked, showing her the menu. She took one glance before she figured it out. "Lobster." She said quickly, and he raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" He asked, and she nodded. "Homard, Lobster, I speak French." She told him.

Percy smiled and tilted his head. "Really?" He asked in slight disbelief. She nodded. "Yep, and German, Greek, Latin, Italian, Turkish, Russian, Spanish, basically most of the major European languages, or just any language belonging to a great enemy of Europe like Turkey was at one point. Kinda hard to scout out and spy on enemies when you have no idea what they're saying." She said.

Percy put down the menu. "Prove it, what's yes in Russian?" He asked, and she responded quickly again. "Da." Percy raised an eyebrow. "The what?" He asked.

Artemis put the menu down and glared at him in slight annoyance. "Da." She emphasized, and he tilted his head. "The, what? Am I getting irl lag right now?" He asked.

Artemis bit her lip in frustration. "da ty chertovski debil!" She tried her best not to raise her voice, and Percy finally understood. "Ohhhh, you mean дa." He said, making Artemis facepalm.

They ordered and their drinks arrived quickly. Percy took a sip of his wine absently. "So, care to tell me why my daughter's face has been mutilated on your watch?" He asked, and Artemis had to take a moment lest she choke on her wine. "Well it's a funny story..."

By the end of said funny story, Percy had spat out his wine all over a passing waiter with the strength of a fire hydrant. The Frenchman flew back in shock, and Percy apologized profusely. As he desperately tried to defuse the situation, Artemis sipped her drink with a sly smirk.

The waiter eventually left muttering to himself in a different language, and Artemis had to hold in her laughs as she mentally translated what he was saying.

Their food came soon enough, though clearly not for Percy who was grumbling the word 'finally'. The two ate with light conversations about things like Selena and Olympus' current events.

Percy even brought up football, and she played along as though she knew what he was talking about until he asked her what her favorite team was. Being that she was a goddess and had no time for sports, she had to make one up on the spot. "The, uh, Anchorage... Anchors..." she said slowly, trying to discern if it sounded believable.

Percy's eyes were narrowed in confusion. "The Anchorage Anchors?" He asked, and Artemis nodded, biting her bottom lip. Her fiance chuckled lightly to himself, clearly having seen through her deceit, before returning to his meal.

The dinner was delicious. Artemis felt the French had a tendency to be good cooks. Since neither of them really felt like dessert, Percy paid the cheque and they got ready to leave.

They left the restaurant into the cold California night air, Artemis' arm around his. She looked up at her fiance. "So what do we do now?" She asked, and he shrugged. "We could go for a walk?" He suggested.

She liked that idea. "Central Park?" She asked, and Percy chucked her grin. "Of course, it's the best place for night walks with your date." He said, before flashing them both to New York.

The park was quiet at this time of night, just the way Artemis liked it. Thankfully her hunters were not there, the closest thing they could consider a base camp save for Yellowstone. They were instead out somewhere in the Ozarks, and as far as Artemis knew they were doing well.

The two walked for a while, talking comfortably about random topics. They were on the vibrant topic suggested by Percy of whether it was okay morally to eat your own arm if it was amputated after an accident.

"Look, I'm not saying I would. I'm just saying that it's my arm, that's my property, and I can do whatever I want with it. They can't not let me have it either, cause that's theft." He explained, but Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but it's a human arm, your arm. Would you really want to eat that?" She asked.

Percy shrugged. "Wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've eaten. I'm just saying like how have people not done this already? I've seen a lot of amputees in my life and I'm willing to be none of them ate the part that got cut off, yet it's perfectly legal."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Maybe that's because not everyone's as keen to eat human flesh as you are, Percy." She told him.

Percy chuckled, before gently leading her off to the side. "Come on, let's sit down." He said, leading her to a dry rock that looked smooth enough to rest their behinds on. He sat her down first, before joining his fiance.

The two sat there in silence for a while, looking around at nature. Percy's attention turned to the rising moon, and he lay down to stare up at it. "It's really beautiful tonight." He noted, and Artemis lay down next to him. "It is."

He turned his head to look at her, hands rested on his stomach. "So are you. The moon's like... illuminating your skin, and it makes your dress and eyeliner sparkle." He complimented her, earning a blush. "Thank you, Percy. You look handsome as well, tonight." She returned the favor.

Percy frowned. "Are you saying I'm usually not?" He asked, and Artemis' eyes widened slightly, thinking she was doing this really horribly. "N-no, it's just..."

Percy laughed it off. "It's okay, Arty. I'm just messing with you. I get it, we're all dressed up and looking our best. I'd be lying if I said you were always this gorgeous. You are gorgeous 24/7, don't get me wrong, it's just the night's radiating you in particular." He once again complimented.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "You're a master at flirting." She told him.

She then looked up at the bright white orb in the sky, and got an idea. "You wanna go for a ride?" She asked, garnering his immediate attention. "Huh?" He asked in confusion, though the goddess could tell he had a faint idea of what she was talking about.

She pointed up towards the moon. "My chariot. We could go up there if you want. I'll let you drive." She offered, and her fiance seemed unsure. "I don't know... I might crash. It's been a while since I've driven a car." He told her.

Artemis scoffed. "I'm not like my brother, mine's an actual chariot, not a sports car. You've already been in it, remember? It was after you rescued me from Atlas. Besides, do you know how hard it is to crash that high in the sky? Even if you plummet straight down, there's like thirty or so seconds for me to take the reins and pull up." She assured him.

Percy licked his dry lips in thought, before nodding. "Okay, sure. Let's go." He agreed, getting up. His date got back on her feet and took his hand, flashing the two of them high up into the sky.

When Percy landed, he felt like he was falling backwards, and had to grab tight onto the front of the chariot just to maintain balance. Artemis also grabbed his arm to steady him. "Woah there. We're rising, so it's gonna feel like this till around midnight." She told him.

Percy checked his watch and sighed. "An hour and a half away." He noted, trying to find a good way to stand. He managed to find a comfortable position, leaning forward at a fifty degree angle.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "You, uh... You do realise there's seats behind you, yes?" She asked, and Percy's head whirled around. Behind him was what looked to be a really trashy couch, until he realised it was a back row of car seats. Not the baby kind, the normal kind.

He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Oh, right." He said quietly, before sitting himself down. The angle made him feel like he was in a rocket shuttle, blasting off to the moon. But lo and behold, this wasn't a rocket shuttle, it was the moon.

Artemis laughed softly and sat herself down next to him, their bodies closer than the seats justified. She leant forward and grabbed the reins, before handing them to Percy. "There you go."

He looked at the reins in his hand. "So... what do I do? Usually with chariots you use these to steer or speed up, but this thing seems to be on autopilot." He told her. His goddess smirked at the question, before snapping her fingers. "How about now?"

Percy could suddenly feel his stomach lurch and a major bout of turbulence as the chariot zoomed forward, before taking a large dip. He fought the urge to scream as they plummeted towards the ground, before doing the only thing he could think to save them, he yanked on the reins.

Despite the fact he almost broke the necks of each deer, they followed his command and pulled up, steadying out once he relaxed the pull on their ties. The god was breathing heavily, his heart pounding as he narrowed his eyes at the goddess. "You could've eased me into it." He told her.

Artemis shrugged, looking up at him. "The heat of the moment is the best way to get good at things." She told him, giving Percy a sly idea. "Oh yeah? So does that mean if I do this that you're gonna be suddenly amazing?" He asked, before attacking her with a kiss.

Artemis' eyes widened exponentially at the assault, panicking for a moment and forgetting what to do. Usually when they kissed, one of them eased the other into it. They never just launched themselves on the other like two teenagers.

She took a few deep breaths through her nose as his mouth molded around hers, before she suddenly remembered how to react in these situations. Since she had nothing in her hands, she used them to grasp his face, pulling him closer as she kissed back. It was perhaps the most heated she had yet been with Percy, and therefore with anyone.

They parted, and Artemis smirked at him. "Was that good enough?" She asked, a thumb stroking his cheek softly. He hadn't shaved in a few days, so there was a light bit of stubble on his face, just the way Artemis liked it.

Percy looked away in fake consideration for a moment. "Hmm... yeah I think you passed." He told her, looking back.

Artemis kissed him softly on the cheek before leaning forward. She had installed a stereo a few years earlier, because she realised that there was an alternative to reading flapping books in the windy sky. The goddess turned the dial for a bit, finally coming across a station she liked. Yeah it was really crackly this high in the sky, but she could still make out the song.

Percy rolled his eyes, before pulling out his phone. "Here, take the reins." He said, and his fiance did so. He scrolled through his phone for a few seconds before fiddling with the stereo. Eventually there was a loud BOO BOO BEEP, startling Artemis. Percy held up his phone. "Bluetooth." He told her quickly, before pressing play.

The goddess sighed as she could now hear the music clearly, letting Percy take the reins. Don't You Forget About Me, by... whomever. She didn't follow the music industry.

As the music played, she rested her head on Percy's shoulder. The god in question gave her a side-glance and a smile, before focusing back on staying on the correct path.

They sat like that for almost an hour and a half, before Artemis checked the time. "Ooh, we're almost there." She told him, sitting up. Percy raised an eyebrow and was suddenly at attention. "Almost where?" He asked as Artemis stood up, the angling now considerably better.

She pulled Percy to his feet and took the reins. She snapped her fingers and the chariot was once again on autopilot, and thus the gods stood there patiently.

Percy looked out at all sides, wondering what he was supposed to be looking for. Artemis checked the time again. "5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."

He felt it, they had reached the top. It was midnight. All the wind ceased, his stomach fell back to normality, and it was suddenly like gravity no longer existed, like he could just float away. He sighed in surprise and relief, looking around below them.

The world looked so beautiful from up there, with cities lit up and just the faintest bit of coloring from the moonlight. He had no idea where they were, geography was never his strong point, but if he had to guess it was likely somewhere in the central US, cause they had definitely not yet gone around to Asia and Europe.

"Wow...." He whispered in awe, looking all around. Artemis smiled up at him. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked, and he turned his head to look at her. When he did so, his jaw dropped.

The moon goddess was in her prime. The peak of the moon had her skin illuminating like you would imagine a goddess, he dress clung to her body and showed off her to-die-for figure, and Artemis' auburn hair hung loosely over her shoulder, giving the goddess an innocent look.

"You are..." He said quietly, not realising his misspeaking. Artemis' face lit up, and she grew a small flustered smile as she looked down at their feet. Percy walked over, and she looked up.

He could not find the words for a few seconds, he was too taken aback by this beauty in front of him. He felt like he had to say something nice, though in his opinion there were no words to describe her. Godly just wasn't enough.

He took her hands softly, and they stood there face to face. "You are the most beautiful creature I've ever seen." He complimented, still in awe. Artemis blushed again and averted her gaze. "You don't mean that." She said humbly.

Percy shook his head. "I do. Aphrodite may be beautiful in that sense, but her mere looks don't do to me what the sight of you does. I... gods, I wish our wedding was tomorrow or something, I just want so desperately to kiss you." He said, trying not to sound like such a Romeo.

Artemis looked up at him shyly, but with a hint of confidence on her face. "Then do it." She told him, giving him permission to act upon his wish. Percy froze for a moment, wondering if he was worthy to kiss her. He felt like a demigod again, and she seemed like a true god, a primordial. It seemed like it should be forbidden for him to have such an enchanting creature.

To Artemis' relief, he took the dive. The god leaned forward and locked his lips onto hers, feeling for a moment like he really was getting married. The goddess smiled and kissed back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Sorry this took 11 days to write. Yes, @Paige_9900, I'm looking at you. Sorry not sorry @BearWarrior3000 for stealing the moon chariot idea from your recent story. Consider it payment for America totally saving Britain from the Nazis 76 years ago. I have an idea for the next chapter, but I also have to work on something else and update Dark Lord again, so don't expect that for roughly the same amount of time as this took.

Also, I forgot to say this seven months ago, but I wrote this story five days after my baby sister was born, so it's sort of dedicated to her in a way. That's why I made it so Percy has a daughter, because my family had just welcomed our own baby girl into the world.

Word Count: 4085