Artemis took a deep breath, while Percy gently squeezed her hand. She smiled at him before looking at her father again. She made a small curtsy . Percy did the same.
Her father looked down at her and smiled. But when he looked at Percy, that smile quickly vanished. He didn't say anything. He just gave him a warning glance and turned his attention back to Artemis. " Artemis, my daugther. I'm glad I can speak with you". Artemis nodded. " Glad to see you too father". Zeus smiled, although it wasn't a particulary nice smile. He raised one of his eyebrows. " And you brought a little suprise, I see. One stupid, pestering demi-god. How wondeful" Zeus said, the sarcasm very clear.
Artemis' eyes shot fire. " He isn't stupid. Or pestering! He is brave, loyal, smart, funny , strong and kind. And I love him" Artemis exclaimed, walking to her father's throne. He was frozen; a shocked expression on his face. He isn't used to someone screaming at him, of course Percy thought, trying to hide his smile.
Artemis had said she loved him in front of the entire Olympain council. Percy had never been happier. On impulse, he grabbed her and pulled her close for a very passionate kiss. He heard several gaps from the shocked gods and goddesses in the room. When the kiss ended, Artemis smiled and licked her lips. " You keep getting better. You might win the Olympian games for kissing" she whispered before facing all the shocked gods.
Zeus was trying hard to launce at Percy, only to be stopped by Hera and Aphrodite. Percy was suprised that the two goddesses could hold him; Zeus was struggling furiously to get free. So he could kill Percy, Percy knew. Zeus' master bolt was next to his throne, but he couldn't reach it.
Ares got up, always in for a fight, but Aphrodite stopped him. " Ares! Stop it already! Or I will never speak to you again" she said, giving him an annoyed look. " Sounds good to me" Hephaestus mumbled, who looked slighly amused by the situation. Ares shot him an annoyed look.
Percy took a quick look at the gods. Hephaestus looked suprised and amused, but not really interested. Ares looked at him with as much hate as possible, which made him want to launch at him, but Artemis squeeched his hand slightly to get his head clear again. Attacking the war god now, wouldn't be a good idea. Besides, he knew something about Ares, what would help him stand up against the war god. He didn't need to fight with the information he had. Percy grinned. He could use that later.
He looked at the other gods. Hades looked at him with hate, but also with reluctant respect. Hestia gave him a warm smile, while frowning at Zeus, Hera and Aphrodite, who were still fighting. Aphrodite, who was trying to stop Zeus from killing Percy, looked ( even now she was in this situation) very satisfied with herself and winked at him. Her satisfied expression turned into a scared one when Artemis send her a warning glare meaning as much as mine. And; don't even think about it. Dionysos looked bored as ever. Demeter was eating a bowl of cornflakes while looking at the two couples with slight interest. Probably happy this meeting, at last, wasn't boring. Apollo looked really concerned, angry and confused. Shit Percy thought. Another god who is mad at me. But he would have to deal with that later. He would try to talk to Apollo after this meeting. If he survived, of course.
Hermes looked slightly disappointed, but gave him , after a short hesitatation, a thumbs up. And Athena and Poseidon were next to him, ready to guard his back.
Percy was suprised Athena was so nice to him. Even if she was dating his father, he was suprised she could be so nice. She hadn't even tried to kill him or something.
At that moment, Zeus escaped from the gasp of the two goddesses. He wanted to take his master bolt, but Hera stopped him once again, whispering something in his ear. After some more whispering, Zeus relaxed and even smiled. He sat back in his chair, to everyone's ( well, except maybe Ares, who was hoping for a fight, and Hades, who disliked Percy for kicking his ass one time) relief. Hera sat next to him, laying ( to Percy's, and practically everyone''s suprise) her hand on his hand. She even smiled at him. Aphrodite gave Percy one last wink, which made Artemis reach for her knife, and walked back to her chair.
While Hera and Aphrodite somehow had stopped Zeus from killing Percy, all other gods had just sat back and enjoyed the ' show' .
Right now, they were all staring at him and Artemis. Zeus cleared his throat. " Well, I think everyone knows the situation now, but I will explain just to be sure what is going on". " Oh please, Zeus. It's clear. Artemis and Percy are a couple" Hermes said, looking quite sad. Artemis gave him a kind smile, which brightened his expression a bit. " That's true. Thank you for pointing out". Hermes shrugged and turned his attention to his phone. Zeus growled. " Well, if everyone already knows, then you also know why we have this meeting". " We are attending this convocation to dissertate the latest proceedings" Athena answered, even at this time not able to resist sharing her wisdom with everyone. Not that a lot understood what she meant.
Especially Ares looked confused. " What does that mean? Stop talking an entirely new language no one knows about" he said, gripping the hilt of his sword. Athena rolled her eyes. " Oh please, you brainless maniac. It's not a new language! It's simply English, although a simple-minded fool like yourself might think otherwise". Ares got out of his chair, his eyes a red fire. " You dare to insult me? NO ONE insults me. GET HERE AND FIGHT, IF YOU DARE". Athena snickered." Oh, spare me your nonsense. You don't even know what it means. And I would beat you, even a twelve-year-old boy could" Athena said, pointing towards Percy. He raised his hands. " He keep me out of this, all right"? Ares snickered. " Is the great Percy Jackson afraid for a girl? Man, I didn't know you were so weak and stupid that a girl could beat you, Jackson" Ares said, grinning. That wasn't a smart things to do; now all the goddesses were mad at him, gripping weapons and looking ready to fight. Even Aphrodite looke majorly pissed-off. She flipped her hair and wrigled her nose, looking mad and distant. Ares looked at her, trying to give her a charming smile, but it looked more like he had been to the the dentist and he was anaesthesized. So he looked really stupid.
Percy heard Hera sigh and say; " How can that be my child"? while she looked at Ares, who still looked really stupid. Percy had to put his hand for his mouth to hide his smile. Zeus coughed. " All right. Back to the reason of this meeting. I will just say it" Zeus said, actually sounding relaxed. Percy wondered what Hera had said to calm him down. He had expected Zeus to attack him by now. A quick look to Athena and his father, taught him they had thought so too. Poseidon's eyes were glued at Zeus, one foot before the other, so he could run towards his brother immediately. Percy had noticed Athena was studying the room and everything in it, probably already coming up with a plan. And Artemis squeezed his hand tight, almost painful.
Percy was nervous himself too. Who knew how long Zeus would remain this calm. Not that long, Percy suspected. Zeus looked at Percy, frowning , and continued talking. Percy saw Zeus had trouble controling himself; he was gripping the arms of his chair tightly. " Percy Jackson, the son of my brother Poseidon, is dating my daugther. My beautiful daughter, who-" he glance at Artemis before continuing. " Vowed to remain a virgin forever and to be a maiden forever. I don't know how -" He glanced at Aphrodite, who just shrugged, basically saying don't look at me. " He has managed to do this, but I am against it. I want my daugther to be happy of course, but I think Poseidon's son will make her life only miserable". Percy stepped forward, Artemis was still holding his hand. " Lord, no insult intended, but don't you think Artemis should choose what she thinks that will make her happy and not what others think. I know I have my flaws and , honostly, I'm suprised she even likes me. But I promise, I will do anything to make your daughter happy" he said, annoyed Zeus couldn't just accept their relationship.
Zeus look annoyed, but also a little impressed that Percy dared to disagree with him. Poseidon gave Percy a small, reassuring smile while looking at Athena with a tender expression. Zeus nodded. " I believe you do. Nonetheless, I'm against it". When Artemis opened her mouth to protest, he cut her off. " But I will give you a chance and let everyone vote. If the majority thinks you two should be a couple, or at least get a chance, you will have it your way. If the majority is against it, your life will be immediately ended, Percy Jackson". Percy frowned; that was a risk. But he decided it was worth it. If he would win, he would get to be with Artemis, after all.
Poseidon shook his head. " I won't allow you to kill my child, who has saved us all. Try to hurt him and you will have to deal with me" he said, his trident appearing in his left hand. " And with me" Athena said. Zeus frowned. " Would you oppose me, child? You're the goddess of wisdom and you think it's wise to side with that moron? You have hated him for years, why suddenly the chance of mind". Athena hesitated for a second before she spoke. " More like a chance of heart. Someone once told me hate and love are very close. And that person was right. I love Poseidon father" Athena said, her expression a little scared but also determined.
Aphrodite let out a excited scream while everyone else stared just at Poseidon and Athena. Other than Zeus, Percy and Artemis, no one knew of the chances in their feelings. That they liked each other. They had walked into the room together, but had showed nothing. And now, Athena confessed she loved Poseidon. Percy hold his breath; what would Zeus do now? Zeus narrowed his eyes. " You. Love. Him. Him , who is a threat to me, your father"? he said very slowly. "Yes, father I love him" Athena said. Not being able to resist, she added a comment. " And I'm not stupid. I know who he is. Other than you, who doesn't-" Zeus got up, his eyes revealing his anger. Percy could hear the thunder starting. Damn it he thought. This is going to be bad.
He looked around the room, searching for something that might help. The gods wouldn't ; they were all too shocked to be of any help. Even Poseidon was frozen, staring at Athena. He obviously hadn't expected her to say that. Percy was shocked too. It was really unlike Athena to say something like that. She was all about logic. Percy had expected her to come up with reasons with she and Poseidon suddenly acted different. Theories. Difficult words who no one understand. But not those three words. He looked at Artemis, who was smiling at her best friend. Apparently, she wasn't as shocked at the rest. But she knew more about Athena, maybe she knew something they didn't.
Zeus started screaming,the storm raging outside. Percy felt scared, but tried to protect Artemis anyway. Artemis just rolled her eyes and pushed him aside, using her body to protect him. " POSEIDON! I WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS. YOU AND YOUR SON HAVE GONE TOO FAR. LEAVE MY DAUGHTERS ALONE" Zeus screamed at Poseidon. Poseidon seemed to, finally, get out of his shock. " YOU ARE NOT THE MAN FOR MY DAUGHTER! YOU WILL USE HER AND HURT HER. I-". Poseidon interrupted. " SHUT UP! I GET WHY YOU THINK THAT , BUT YOU ARE WRONG. I MIGHT NOT BE PERFECT AND I DON'T DESERVE HER, BUT I WILL NEVER HURT HER. I love her" Poseidon said, walking towards Athena and taking her hands in his.
Athena smiled at him. She looked relieved. Zeus was silent before a moment before he started to scream again. " YOU LAIR! YOU ONLY WANT TO TAKE HER VIRGINITY, YOU- Mmmmm". Zeus was cut off by, once again, Hera who put her hand on his mouth. " Stop it already. They love it each other, can't you see that"? she said, pushing him down. Zeus frowned. " But he will-" " He will make her happy" Hera finished. Zeus didn't look angry anymore, apparently he understood. Maybe he hadn't been really angry. Just worried.
He sighed, looking at the two couples, holding each other. " Don't you think both of them deserve happiness"? Hera said, smiling. Zeus nodded. " Then don't interfere. Let them be together" Hera said. Zeus smiled at her. Percy was suprised those two were being so nice to each other. He only knew Hera as an evil bitch, but apparently she also had a nice side. " Ehm, why is Hera trying to help us? Isn't she a total bitch or something"? Percy whispered, so soft only Artemis could hear him. Artemis snickered. " She is the goddess of marriage, she probably wants to get us married. You know, she has been trying to get me to marry for years" Artemis said, shrugging.
Percy looked at Artemis, not sure what to think. " Do you want that"? Artemis's eyes widened. " What? Do you mean you want to marry me"? Percy smiled. " Of course. I want to be with you forever. I want your face to be the first thing I see in the morning. And our children-" " Children"? Artemis hissed. " Are you serious? Percy! You're my first boyfriend! And this is absolutely not the right time to propose to me"! she hissed, looking really panicked. Percy saw everyone was looking at them.
He saw Apollow got up, his normal happy expression now grim and threatening. " What was that, Jackson? Did I hear it right? Did you just propose to my little sister"? he said, narrowing his eyes. " Big sister " Artemis mumbled. Everyone was holding their breath, it seemed. Even Zeus didn't say anything. He just waited for Percy's response. He didn't even look mad anymore. Percy straightened himself. " In a way, you could say yes. Your sister is the most amazing person I have ever met. I want to be with her. I want to hold her close to me forever. I want to make her smile every single day. I want to be the one to make her smile. I love her". Apollo's expression softened a bit at Percy's words. " It's true, Jackson, you have been a great help to Olympus. But can you really be with my sister? There a few problems. Like you're not even a god. And of course, my sister wanted to remain a virgin forever, ever since- AU"! At that moment, Artemis had run up to his throne and stabbed him with her knife. " What are you doing, little sis? I'm trying to-AU! Stop stabbing me"!
Apollo jumped away from Artemis, who was trying to stab him again. Percy ran towards her and grabbed her. She struggled in his arms. " I'M OLDER APOLLO! AND STOP INTERFERING WITH MY LIFE! YOU DID THAT WITH ORION TOO AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED"! she screamed. Apollo looked down, ashamed. " I'm sorry for that sis, but I-". " YOU JEALOUS, ANNOYING, MEAN MAN"! Artemis shouted. Apollo took a step back with an hurt expression. Percy turned Artemis and hugged her. He stroked her hair, softly whispering to her. " Calm down, all right? Everyone makes mistakes. He is your brother and is just worried. I'm here for you. I love you". He kept whispering, all the Olympians watching in silence ( Aphrodite's eyes were tearing up) , until she calmed down.
Slowly, he lifted her head and gave her a soft kiss. " I love you, Artemis. I don't know how to show you my feelings, but I love you. I'm not a poem, writor or anyone talented, but I will do anything for you" he said. Artemis smiled. " That's all I need" she said and kissed him. " Why are you never that sweet! All you do is cheat!" he could hear Hera say.
Suddenly, Percy fell an hand on his arm. It was Apollo, smiling again. He raised his hands. " Who dude! Nothing of that until your wedding night, all right"? Artemis laughed and pinched Apollo. " Oh shut up! You're annoying , you know that"? Apollo laughed. " You love me, just say it". Artemis rolled her eyes and wanted to kiss Percy again, but Apollo stopped her. He pushed them apart, now he was in the middle, and put his arms around them. " Aren't we going to be best friends"? Percy sighed. " Sure. Whatever you say, lord Apollo". Apollo laughed, almost blinding Percy with his white teeth. " You can call me bro, bro". Percy sighed. " All right bro".
He turned to his father and Athena, who were holding hands and smiling at them. They all turned to Zues, who looked really confused. Hera poked him and he coughed. " All right. So who thinks these people all deserve a chance together"? Artemis coughed. "Ehm father"? Zeus looked at her. " Yes? What's wrong darling"? Zeus said, a bit annoyed he got interrupted. Again. Artemis sighed. " How can Percy and I be together? He will get older and eventually die. And I.. I will live forever. Which would be not much of a live without him" Artemis said, her eyes filled with sadness( at this point Aphrodite started crying really hard and kept announcing; it was soooo romantic).
After Zeus had made Aphrodite stop crying and talking, he turned to Artemis. " If enough people want to give you two a chance, I will make your.. little friend a god. All right"? Artemis smiled and nodded. " Yes father, thank you so much". She gave Zeus a grateful smile. Zeus smiled back and turned to the other gods. " Now, who wants to give them a chance"?
To Percy's suprise, everyone ( except Zeus) voted yes. Ares grinned at him. " If that punk gets immortality, I will get a chance to beat him up more often. and maybe I even get to train you, punk" he said. At those words, Percy decided it was time to spill Ares' little secret. Percy smiled at Ares, looking forward to the moment Ares realized what Percy knew. " Really? That would be interesting. Just as interesting as the nickname... honey bear" he said with an evil smile. Ares' eyes widened. " Wh-hat? How-" Percy chuckled. " I have acces to some information" he said, enjoying the scared look on Ares' face.
All the gods, except Artemis and Athena ( Artemis had told her), looked really confused. " I don't get it. What is up with the word honey bear"? Percy grinned. " Shall I tell them , lord Ares"? Ares shook his head; fear in his eyes. His reputation would be ruined forever. And to make things worse, Percy had also found out why Aphrodite called him that; because he had an cuddly bear he called honey bear. She had seen him with it together and started using it, because she thought it was cute. " Please don't tell, Pun- I mean Percy" Ares said, with pleading eyes.
Percy grinned. " Fine. But in exchange you will have to be nice or at least nicer. Deal"? Ares nodded, looking relieved. All the gods looked really confused. Zeus shook his head. " All right, now you two have had a little conversation, let's continue".
Zeus spoke a few words, there was a bright light and Percy felt like his blood pounded faster. He felt a thug at his stomach and a tickling sensation, which got stronger until it actually hurt. When the light was gone, Percy fell to the floor, exhausted. Zeus told him he would be the god of tidal waves and hero's and he could return to camp to tell his friends. After that, he would be trained by Artemis and, if he wanted, Poseidon. Poseidon and Athena got permission ( after some more whispering of Hera) to go on a date. And Zeus promised, as long as Poseidon didn't mess it up ( which he would likely do, according to Zeus), Zeus wouldn't hurt him.
After all of that, Zeus dismissed everyone. He seemed really eager to leave himself. Percy quessed it had something to do with what Hera had told him. They went Artemis house, which was seriously beautiful and still simple, and went to bed.
A few weeks later, there was a party. All the Olympians, the minor gods and goddesses and demi-gods were invited. The hunters of Artemis didn't want to come. They already knew they were a couple now. There had been a lot of screaming, some girls even wanted to kill him, but Andromeda, Kat and Gwen had stopped them and explained he was a good guy. Percy had spent some time with the hunters and, very slowly, they started to like him.
Artemis didn't know if her hunters would stay. Maybe she would loosen the rules, since she had broke them herself by falling in love with Percy. And kissing him. And everything.
On the party, Percy would tell his friends about him becoming a god and dating Artemis. The demi-gods didn't know it was a party for Percy and didn't know he was a god now. They did now he was alive, Mr.D had told them.
On the party, Percy danced with Artemis, which was what he wanted, but also with some minor gods and goddeses. And, weird enough, with Hera, Demeter, Persephone and Athena. He was really shocked when Athena , who turned out to be an excellent dancer, told him he was really handsome. He had already noticed, that now he was a god, most women couldn't take his eyes of him. But for him, Artemis was the only one. And he knew Athena, even if she felt attracted to him, liked his father and not him.
Hera , of course, was married and would never cheat. She had danced with him to talk about marriage between him and Artemis and to make Zeus a little jealous ( which was only good for him). And she, too, had said he looked really good. But she treated him more as a son than anything else, which suprised him. But she had said she tried to be nicer and she wasn't always mean.
Persephone had danced with him because she liked dancing and changed partners al the time, although she danced a lot with Hades too. She had said, too, he looked very good. And Demeter wanted to know if he ever ate cereal ( he answered yes, because he did) and because she liked dancing. She was actually nice.
He hadn't seen his friends yet, because they would notice how much he had changed. The other gods had decided they would announce that he was a new god.
Right now. There was a stage and Percy had to get on to it. He took a deep breath and took the mic from Apollo. Apollo smiled and gave him an high-five. " Good luck,bro"! He winked and left Percy behind at the stage.
Apollo had just told the demi-gods Percy was the new god. Percy had heard the gasps and shouting. Percy took a deep breath. He wanted to tell something. He searched the faces of his friends. Grover looked happy, but also really suprised. He gave him a thumbs up. Nico didn't look shocked or suprised at all. But Percy knew Nico was happy for him. All the campers cheered, even Clarise. Shouting his name. But Percy wanted to find her first. The other woman, or actually girl, who was really important to him. And then he saw her. She was frozen, her eyes wide. She smiled at him, like always. And mouthed; well done, kelp brain.
Percy sighed and started his story, looking at her. " All right. We all know, thanks to Artemis, the monster is gone. We are safe once again. That's what I, besides being turned into a god, wanted to let you know. And I want to thank all of you. Mom ( he had told his mother already), Paul, my friends, Chiron and even Mr. D". Mr.D looked really suprised when Percy called his name. Percy grinned. " What doesn't mean I suddenly like you, but I have to admit, you saved my life that time my friends and I were on our quest to save Artemis. So thanks, I quess". All demi-gods cheered.
Percy smiled. " And that's the most important thing. I want you to know the reason I did become a god. It's because I met someone. And fell in love. May I present my girlfriend, Artemis". Artemis came onto the stage, walking towards him. She smiled. At this time, all the demi-gods were absolutely silent. Percy smiled. They all looked really shocked.
He looked at Annabeth again and frowned. She was staring at him, and looked really sad. He saw tears in her grey ears before she turned and ran away. Percy bowed to Artemis. " I have to help her, can you continue this"? Artemis nodded and gave him a kiss. " Of course. Good luck".
Percy walked away, trying to find Annabeth and ask what was wrong. Percy searched for some time until he found a nymph who knew where she was. The library. I should have known Percy thought. He ran towards the library, which was built close to Athena's house. When he ran inside, he heard someone sobbing.
There was no one there, everyone was at the party. He followed the sounds he heard. When he reached a far corner, he saw Annabeth. She was on the ground, her arms around her knees and was crying. He walked towards her and sat down. " He" he said, sitting down.
She didn't look up, just kept crying. He lay an arm around her shoulder." Annabeth. What is wrong? Why did you run off like that"? he said, looking down at his crying friend. Annabeth didn't reply for a long time, just kept sobbing.
After a long time, she looked up. Her face was wet and her eyes really red. She sniffed. " Oh Percy, you're so stupid. You simply don't see the obvious, do you? It's you"! Percy frowned. " What did I do? I know I should have let you know I had become a god, but-". " It isn't about you being a god. It's the reason you became a god" Annabeth said, sobbing.
She leaned against him. Percy sighed. " Why? Because you think we won't get to see each other that much? That's not true. I will visit you often, I promise. I would spend a lot of time in camp half-blood and-" Annabeth cried harder. Percy hugged her, silencely cursing herself for making her cry. He didn't understand it, but he did understand, somehow, this was his fault. " He, don't cry. You know I always keep my promises and-" " I'm in love with you" Annabeth suddenly said, looking up at him, despair in her eyes.
Percy froze; he had expected almost everything, just not that she was in love with him. And she had just said she was. He stared at her. " You are in love with me? But I thought-" " That we were just friends. That I didn't have that kind of feelings for you" Annabeth finished. Percy nodded. "Exactly. I thought we were friends, nothing more". Annabeth sighed, she looked really sad. " I thought it at first too. But after some time, I realised I was in love. For some time, I thought it was Aphrodite, but it wasn't her. And, I-" she hesitated. "And you-" Percy said. She looked at him, sad and lonely.
He hugged her tighter. With a sigh, she out her head on his chest. " I didn't dare to tell. Thought you didn't return these feelings. I tried to show you, but you didn't understand it. I was about to tell you, when you had to leave. Again. And now, you already have someone else". Percy sighed. " I'm sorry, Annabeth. I never wanted to hurt you. I honostly didn't". Annabeth smiled weakly. " I know you would never intentionally hurt me. You're too kind for that. But you never loved me, did you"? she asked, looking at him with those grey eyes. Demanding an answer. The truth.
Percy sighed and shrugged. " There was a time.. there was a time I thought I were in love with you. But I'm not sure. And when Artemis and I spent more time together, I quickly understood I was in love with her. I think you're just a friend. A great friend, but still a friend" Percy said. Annabeth didn't say anything.
They remained silent for a long time. Eventually, Annabeth looked at him. " You can let me go. I'm better now. And it will only be harder if you keep holding me". Percy nodded and helped her up. " Just so you know, you're a great person and I will always care for you" he said. Annabeth looked at her feet. She sighed and looked up. She smiled weakly. " Friends, then"? Percy nodded. " Friends". He took her hand and they walked away, together.
They would always remain friends, no matter what. Artemis and Percy would marry. Annabeth became an architect, like she always wanted. Eventually, she fell in love with someone else and married. Percy had a great life, friends and the girl he wanted.
The End.