Chapter 26: Family Fun

Okay, so I'm running out of ideas for these next few chapters. I want to keep it strictly Pertemis chapters while I get this 'Act Two' of the story straightened out. Please review or comment or DM with ideas you'd like to see featured in a Pertemis chapter. I'll start that lemon story soon. Sorry for the long wait, school's finishing up soon, I was recently on a school field trip and I started playing Darksiders III, which is actually really great. It definitely doesn't deserve all the hate it gets, in fact I prefer it over 2, but the first game is still the best.

Expect slow updates. Sorry.

Chapter 26: Family Fun

Percy's P.O.V.

I woke up still inside of Artemis, who lay peacefully on top of me enjoying whatever dream she was having. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the light, but when they did, I was pleased with what I saw.

The limited light we got in this realm shone through the crack in the curtains perfectly onto her, illuminating her pretty face. She was smiling slightly, with the corners of her lips curved upwards as the left side of her face pressed onto my pec. I smiled down at her knowing that my wife and the mother of my children was finally home, and that our family was finally complete.

The covers only reached her waist, leaving her naked back was exposed to the elements. Being the considerate husband I was, I pulled up the covers, not counting on the fact that the movement would wake my sleeping beauty. Her eyes fluttered open and squinted slightly as the light hit them, and she turned her head the other way so she could see.

Artemis looked up at me, and after taking a few seconds to register who I was and where she was, she smiled. I smiled back, and my wife pulled herself up to kiss me, her glowing silver eyes shining their own light on my own sea-green ones. The light calmed me, and I closed my eyes and smiled as she nuzzled into my neck.

"Good morning, Moonbeam." I murmured, making her look back up at me and smile. "Morning, Mr Jackson." She said, breaking out into a yawn. I liked it when she yawned. It reminded me of a cat or a puppy, really big and over-exaggerated but almost silent at the same time. Her arms outstretched either side of her as she sat up, straddling me, and I reached up to tuck a stray hair behind her ear.

She smiled and lay back down on me, snuggling into my chest. "What should we do today?" She asked, rubbing circles on my shoulder with her finger. I thought for a moment. I didn't have any duties to attend to right now, as my Generals would be handling the militaristic issues since they knew I'd want to spend time with my family. If there were any urgent problems or issues they couldn't solve without my input, they'd find me.

So basically, we could do whatever we wanted.

"I think the kids will want to spend time with their mother. I don't think one dinner session was enough for them." I told her, and she nodded. "Good, it wasn't enough for me either." She said. I looked down at the hand that was touching my shoulder, and smiled as I spotted the familiar ring that I had placed on her finger 17 years ago.

"You still have the ring." I noted, and her head turned to me suspiciously. "Yeah, and you'd better still have yours." She glared, looking around for my hands, which rested on her lower back. I laughed, showing her the finger that still had the golden ring adorning it.

She sighed in relief and played with my hand, comparing her silver emerald-adorned ring next to my gold sapphire-infused ring. Both of the rings were beautiful, with the colours and gems matching well with the other person's when you placed them side-by-side.

I frowned as I realised something, still staring at the two rings. "We never got that real wedding I promised you." I said, remembering the promise I made to her the night we got married. She was silent for a moment, but then pulled herself up and kissed me softly on the lips again.

"I don't think right now is a good time to get married, Percy. I'm sorry, but I don't even know if my family or my hunters are still alive, and I don't want stuff like that intruding on our big day. Maybe after the war is over, but not right now. I want to have everyone there, I want it to be perfect. I don't want some small wedding with just us, our children and Nyx. I want a wedding that will be talked about for centuries, and now's not the right time for that." She said sadly, and I nodded.

"I didn't think you'd want to go all out on a wedding. You're not exactly known for being romantic." I told her, making her smile as she sat up. "What can I say? You've changed me. Now come on, let's get some breakfast." She said, looking around the room for her clothes. Not wanting her to use the same clothes she'd been wearing for two days, I summoned some jeans, a t-shirt, one of my blue hoodies and some socks for her to wear, plus some underwear. She got up and went to take a shower, and I decided to wait for my turn before getting dressed.

I opened the door to our bedroom, allowing Fenrir to immediately come bounding in past me. He sat on the bed, wagging his tongue and staring at me. I'm glad I put some underwear on first, then. While waiting for my wife to get out of the shower, I grabbed a book and sat down next to Fenrir, petting him as I read.

The shower turned off, and 30 seconds later my wife entered the room wrapped in a towel. "Forgot my clothes. Hi boy." She said, rubbing Fenrir's ear as he licked her hand. I nodded, going off and taking my own shower. I made it quick, only wanting to get the smell of sex off of me before I went to see my children.

I left the room fully dressed, having remembered to bring my clothes, and walked out to find Artemis brushing her hair and Fenrir gone. When she noticed me, she quickly finished up and tied her hair back, standing up and smiling at me. "Ready?" She asked, and I nodded.

The two of us walked throughout the long cold halls of my palace, the low temperature making Artemis shiver slightly. She hugged the hoodie closer to her, trying to warm herself up, so I pulled her closer to me with one arm. Artemis smiled, leaning into me as we walked towards the living room, or at least the main living room.

When we got there, it was absolute chaos. Achilles and Selena were wrestling each other on the ground, Larissa and Calix were smacking and snatching at each other, Sapphire and Urion were dueling with pokers from the fireplace, Fenrir was biting Achilles' ankle and Indy was resting around Selena's shoulders (a fact she didn't seem to be aware of). All of this madness was occuring as Artemis and I walked into the room, our jaws hitting the floor.

When they noticed our presence, they all immediately stopped, staring at us with wide eyes. I sighed, noticing the damaged furniture and the hole in the wall. "Can someone explain to me what's going on here?" I said calmly, and they all looked at each other sheepishly.

"He started it! Cal wouldn't stop bugging me about Sykor!" Larissa said, pointing at Calix, making him look at her in shock. "You hit me first!" He retaliated. I looked towards Achilles and Selena, and my daughter was quick to throw her brother under the bus. "He kept bragging about how he can beat anyone in a fight!" She explained, making him glare at her. "So you sucker punched me?" He asked, and I could see Artemis looking at Selena suspiciously.

She whirled around, glaring at him. "No, I challenged you on that, and I specifically remember you saying 'Oh yeah? Try me.' So I did. Mom always told me to put boys in their place." She said, smiling at Artemis, who visibly relaxed. I sighed, expecting a lot of trouble from Achilles and Selena in the future.

Finally, Urion and Sapphire stood there, and my youngest daughter was giggling uncontrollably. "Uri and I were playing Star Wars!" She said, still holding the poker. Artemis and I couldn't help but smile, there was no way we could be mad at her.

Fenrir sat happily next to Sapphire, wagging his tongue playfully. It was then that Selena noticed Indy, and she gasped loudly as she flinched, shaking the snake off of her. Achilles tried his best to suppress his laughter, but was punched in the arm by Selena.

I sighed, assessing the damage. "Alright, well that's enough fighting for today." I said, walking over and picking up a broken wooden board, the origin of which I had no idea. Artemis clapped her hands, turning their attention to her while I picked up the rubble. "How about we go out and do something today." She said, landing my attention on her again.

"What? What do you mean?" I asked, turning to her as I put down the rubble again. "I thought it would be good for us to go out for some family bonding time." She suggested, smiling at me. I stood there in silence, biting my lip nervously. "I... I don't know..." I said anxiously.

Artemis frowned, her eyebrows furrowing. "What's wrong? It's just for an afternoon." She reassured, but I was still unsure. I cleared my throat. "Arty, can we speak out in the hall?" I asked, and she nodded slowly. We exited the living room with my children looking at us in silence and confusion.

Once outside, I checked to make sure they weren't listening in, then turned Artemis as I fidgeted with my hands. "I... I don't think we should go to the mortal world." I said, making her tilt her head in confusion. "Why not?" She asked, and I simply rubbed my arm while not meeting her eyes.

My wife frowned. "You think I'm going to run away, don't you?" She said, and I nodded. What was the point of denying if she already knew? I expected her to say something, but she didn't. The goddess simply walked closer to me and grabbed my chin, making me look at her. Surprising me, she stood on her tiptoes to kiss me, instantaneously calming me.

I moved my hands to her hips, gently holding her close as we kissed, and after a minute she parted, smiling at me. "Percy, I have finally found my family, I'm finally home, what reason would I have to leave?" She asked, and I frowned. "Your hunters... they could be hurt." I said, and she frowned.

"I can try and contact Thalia to tell her to stand the Hunt down, just promise me they won't be hurt." She said, and I immediately nodded. "I'll release the orders to spare them to my armies. I don't want them to get hurt as much as you. They can't stay here though, so I hope they know a safe place to camp." I said, and she nodded. "I've taken them to a few good spots before."

Knowing that she would not abandon us on this day trip, I brought Artemis back into the living room where my children were all waiting for an answer patiently. I smiled at them. "How about we go for a family picnic?" I asked, having a location in mind. My kids immediately cheered, knowing exactly where we were going, and Selena agreed as well.

The kids rushed upstairs to get ready, and I quickly summoned some lunch in a basket for us. I decided not to go with the traditional sandwiches and instead with something much more delicious: pizza and KFC. In less than five minutes, all the kids were back downstairs dressed and ready to go. Achilles had a backpack that looked heavy, and that worried me slightly.

Still, once we made sure everyone had everything, Artemis and I flashed our godlings out to the mortal world, more specifically to some park in some city I'd visited many times with the kids.

It was a beautiful day out, and it surprised me that no one was there. The park, or at least all that I could see, was empty, which left it all for us. Artemis laid out a blanket that she'd brought along on the grass, and I set the basket down onto it. Before we could even sit down, Sapphire had run over and grabbed Artemis' hand. "Mom! Come, I'll show you the flowers!" She said, dragging my wife away with a grin on her face. Artemis couldn't hold hers in either.

I turned around, only to narrowly catch a football headed right for my head. "You up for a game, old man?" Calix asked, making me crack a wolfish grin. "Just wait 'till I pummel your head into the ground, hotshot." I mocked, passing the ball back.

We split into teams. I had Achilles and Selena on my team while Calix, Urion and Larissa made up the other team. An easy game, according to Achilles. Of course, it wasn't professional football with too many rules and positions, just get the ball and the touchdown.

I started off with the ball, and made it my first move to pass it to Selena on my right. Immediately, the other team sprung into action. Urion and Larissa charged her quickly, hoping to get the ball early, but Selena was easily able to avoid this and passed to Achilles.

Calix, who had stayed back when the game started, ran into Achilles, but his younger brother was too strong and bowled him over. Now that one enemy player was on the ground and the other two almost having reached him, Achilles quickly ran and scored the first touchdown.

He cheered, putting his hand up in an L motion to his siblings on the opposite team, as well as 'accidentally' pointing it towards Selena as well. She glared, and caught the ball as he passed it to her, which she handed to Urion for their turn.

As we got in position to start, Urion eyed us warily, and I chose to mark Larissa while my other teammates chose their targets. Sure enough, Urion passed in to her, and I immediately sprung into action. My eldest child caught the ball triumphantly, noticing my teammates on the other end of the field, but that smirk faded as she saw me rapidly approaching.

I tackled the girl to the ground, soft enough so she didn't get too hurt but hard enough so she knew not to let that happen again. With a loud 'oomph', Larissa fell onto the grass and Calix groaned. "This isn't fair, you guys have all the buff people on your team." He whined.

Selena crossed her arms. "Are you calling me buff?" She asked, offended. Calix rolled his eyes. "Oh please, you're skinny as Hades but we all know you could drop any one of us without trying." He said, gesturing to his own team. I laughed. It was funny because it was true.

Just then, I saw my wife and daughter returning and I smirked. "Hey, you too. You guys know how to play football?" I asked, pointing to the ball. Sapphire shook her head as Artemis scoffed. "Are you kidding me? I used to destroy Ares at this game. He'd always go for the tackles and not the touchdowns." She boasted.

I turned back to Calix. "Well, there you go. You guys get a champion, and we'll have a nine year old who doesn't know how to play." I negotiated, and they looked at Artemis studiously. Urion nodded. "It's better than what we've got now."

I nodded to Artemis, and she took off my old hoodie that she was wearing and ran to her new teammates. I brought Sapphire over and we all huddled together. I quickly whispered the plan to them, making sure to put extra emphasis on Sapphire's role so she knew what to do. When I made sure they all knew the plan, we separated and lined up, Achilles, me and Selena in a line with Sapphire a few meters behind me.

Sure, this plan may be against the rules, but who cares?

I started with the ball, and on the count of three, I passed it to Achilles on my left. We all ran forward, and I saw both Larissa and Artemis were heading right for me. As Calix reached Achilles, the younger brother passed across to Selena and grabbed Calix by the arms, holding him in place.

Selena caught the ball effortlessly, but was forced to pass it as Urion reached her and she did the same thing as Achilles, grabbing her brother and holding him tightly. I was the one to catch the ball, and held it in one hand as Larissa reached me, before she too fell into the trap.

Artemis saw the ball in my outstretched hand and snatched for it, but I chucked the football over my shoulder behind me. It land in Sapphire's arms, and Artemis gaze set on her. Before she could anything, however, I pulled her close with my other arm, holding both girls tightly to my chest as they squirmed.

Sapphire, remembering what she was supposed to do, sprinted as fast as she could with the ball towards the end of the field. Artemis saw this, and elbowed me as hard as she could in the gut, determined to win. I grunted and dropped her, managing to hold onto Larissa. My wife landed on her feet and sprinted after her daughter at top speed.

Sapphire turned, and after seeing her mother sprinting full-force at her, kicked it into hyperspeed and sped off. Artemis bit her lip in frustration, holding her arms out to pick the girl up. Shocking the goddess, Sapphire suddenly slid onto her knees and touched the ball to the ground, both stunning Artemis and tripping her up.

We let go of our prisoners and made our way over, high-fiving and congratulating Sapphire on her first touchdown. Smirking, I walked over to Artemis and looked down at her. She coughed, glaring at me. "You guys cheated." She scolded, and I laughed. My hand was held out towards her, and she took it. "What do you expect, I'm a god."

Okay, again, sorry for the long wait. Been watching a lot of NFL and felt like writing a football chapter. Who do you guys support? I'm a cowboys fan myself.

Word Count: 3192