A/N: Okay I lied. I have three chapters in store. The next installment to this will be posted separately and be rated M. However, this chapter has some subtle suggestions of mature content so just be warned. Plus, this chapter is more of a filler to get up to date on how Percy and Athena's relationship has been going. Nonetheless, enjoy it!

Athena's POV

TEN YEARS LATER

I never imagined myself married. Judging by how my father behaved in his marriage, I believed that the eternal bond of matrimony served little to no purpose other than destroying lives and happiness. If anything, it was more of a business arrangement rather than the tying of two souls and hearts. It was something too trivial to bother with. Not to mention dangerous. After all, men don't exactly have a reputation of being entirely faithful. The idea of marriage always seemed unwise. That's what had driven me to make my vows – to forever hold on to my maidenhood.

But had I known ages ago that I would meet Percy Jackson, that vow might have never been made. He's everything that a typical man is not and over the past few years since our wedding, he's proved himself as such. For one, he's loving. Of course, many husbands are but there's something… unique about the way Percy shows it. Like when his gaze falls on me longer than it usually does and he thinks I don't notice. Or the way he always has to bid me farewell with a kiss. But of course, I require that it be on the cheek in public. Anything more would be, well, embarrassing for me. His kisses always bring a blush to my cheeks, or so I've been told. Best of all, his eyes never wander. Not once. And had they done so, I certainly would have noticed. Those perfect sea green orbs never take second glances at mortals and surprisingly, nymphs and goddesses don't manage to garner his attention either. Although, I've been informed that their attempts to swoon him never truly halted even with the ring on his finger.

I particularly love that sense of humor of his. I wouldn't say it's particularly dry, no. It's just flooded with his special brand of sarcasm and sass. Little teasing remarks are thrown from him more so than me but I always have the ability to shut him up with a better reply. We can laugh about the littlest things together and not a single moment of silence or awkwardness passes between us. None of my previous romantic interests had this attribute so it's refreshing. I now wonder how I could find actual interest in someone who didn't enjoy a good laugh.

But he still possesses traits I'll always be attracted to - like that intelligence of his. But it's not your typical brainiac type smartness. Like everything else, it has his special touch to it. He won't be able to tell you facts or answer arithmetic problems or anything of the sort. But all his logic is based off instinct. His fighting prowess, his quick thinking in situations of danger, even his ability to tactfully handle me at my worst stages of anger or sadness prove Percy to be his own form of intelligent.

Now I could go on and on about his endless list of charms. Like his obvious good looks, his loyalty, bravery, compassion, kindness…. But I won't. Everything about him is fairly self explanatory. I've realized this in the passing years of our marriage – they've been near perfect. Tomorrow is our ten year anniversary and I've been told he has something special planned for me. Unfortunately, I've never been able to trump him when it came to the presents on our anniversaries. And considering how competitive I am, it was an impressive achievement on his part.

The first year it was a map that led me through all the places we had met, a little magical gift lying in wait for me at every location, till at last I made it to the Hoover Dam where I first appeared to him in disguise. Of course I had eventually caught on to what he was doing but I had not expected a jet skiing trip across the lake on hippocampi. I had gotten him a golden necklace with a trident. It came with some special abilities too. He loved it, of course. Years later, I tried to get him back with the perfect shield. It was specially made by Hephaestus, better than any piece of work he'd ever made. It was lightweight, barely noticeable by the user, and indestructible. The symbols of a trident and an owl were molded into it with his name and mine written in ancient Greek along the bottom. My favorite part was the quote, elegantly written in my handwriting, Τώρα ξέρω τι είναι η αγάπη or 'Now I know what love is.' There was no way he could have beaten that one. But of course he did by working together with his father and mine to conjure up the most beautiful Pegasus the world had ever seen. She was pure white with a golden mane and hints of silver in her coat. She was utterly brilliant and magnificent. He named her Kira and once more he had gotten the better of me. This pattern consisted over and over again but he always loved my gifts as much as I did his and he insisted that it wasn't a competition. Percy should have taken my competitive nature into account.

This time, I had to do something he wouldn't expect, maybe even something verging on spontaneous. I figured, maybe, I should follow the advice Aphrodite had given me a decade ago and reinforced a few nights earlier.

I can conjure up any wish, any desire in a split second. In many respects, I'm limitless. You would figure that this would make it very easy to conjure up a special present but it did just the opposite. I was never quite sure what Percy was expecting. With such an endless repertoire of gifts at my disposal, almost anything with magical capabilities wouldn't be very surprising.

I had something else in mind… It was risky, even insane, and completely out of character. But I figured that if a man could tolerate me for ten years straight with no complaints, complete devotion, and boundless love, this was the least I could do for him. Best part was that I was positive he wouldn't have a clue about it coming. However, although I hate to admit it, real credit for this idea goes to Aphrodite after the talk we had…

"Aphrodite!" I screamed out in rage, bursting into her chambers in the middle of the night. She was lying in bed, innocently reading one of her favorite novels, Fifty Shades of Gray. Personally, I considered the series tasteless but that was beside the point. The love goddess set down her book and granted me a playful smile. Her room was dim, only lit by numerous candles which could classify as a fire hazard.

"You know, you really should consider knocking."

"I tried it. It didn't work so I let myself in."

"Oops. It's usually Ares' job to open the door. I guess he's wreaking havoc somewhere. Anyhow, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" I could feel my face scrunch into a deep scowl.

"Don't play stupid with me. You know why I'm here." I spat back.

"There's a long list of offenses I've committed. I really have no idea which one you're here for." I had to take a deep breath to not slay her on the spot.

"You seduced Percy!"

"Oh if only I did. You see, I tried to seduce him. Didn't succeed. I'm genuinely shocked, maybe even a little offended. I've never been declined before when completely offering myself." I grit my teeth although my heart was warmed somewhat knowing that nothing had really happened. Had I not picked up the scent of her perfume from his clothes, I never would have known. He had no intention of telling me in fear of starting a fight - much like this one was turning into. Perhaps if I had given him a chance to explain what had happened, this could have been avoided. But after the words "I admit it, Aphrodite was here. She tried to get me in bed with her but – "I paid no further attention and stormed over here.

"If you weren't already aware, Aphrodite, Percy is a married man, and a committed one at that. Is that so hard to comprehend?"

"No, of course not. The hard part to comprehend is that even after all these years of my advances, he still resists. You'd figure that the boy would at least give me a kiss but – "

"Listen to yourself!" I yelled. "You're the goddess of love! You should know that he loves me, and only me. He's never even led you on."

"But he's led you on, hasn't he?" This confused me. My brows furrowed over my eyes as I pondered for a moment what she could mean but surprisingly, I could make no connection. Aphrodite let out an exasperate sigh and sat up out of her bed, strolling towards me.

"You two have been very… intimate haven't you? Oh, don't answer that. I know you two have. It's just never gotten past a certain point. A better question then, why haven't you crossed the line?"

"What?" I asked, baffled with what she was implying. But it's not like it was something she hadn't suggested before.

"Athena, now you're the one playing stupid." She said, coyly. She approached me and stared right at me with a knowing gaze in her bright blue eyes. "Why haven't you slept with him?"

"Wha – You know why! I made a vow!"

"But you had all intents and purposes to do so after the marriage. I could see it in your eyes the day of the wedding. And even now I see it, every moment you two are together."In all honesty, the idea of sleeping with him had been thought about more times than I could count. I simply wasn't ready to cross that line with him. A part of me was scared to do so and admitting that was the hardest part. "So why haven't you?"

"What's it to you?" I returned defiantly.

"Oh, it's nothing to me, But you see, not crossing that line with him means you haven't fully tied the knot, at least, not in Olympian terms. So technically, Percy is still available. You've only partially claimed him by marriage." For a moment I was speechless. A triumphant smirk slowly played across the love goddess' features as she strode back to her bed.

"He doesn't mind. Percy has never once asked to take that step. Actually, he's usually the one to stop us before we get that far." On the occasions that we are a little more intimate, which really does happen often, Percy is the one that pulls away. I won't lie, sometimes it hurts and I think he might not find me desirable. But I know better. His entire body confesses to his arousal and he lets out the slightest whine whenever he restrains himself.

"Percy does it out of respect for you." She responded easily as she settled back into bed. "Trust me when I say he'd love to. In fact, I think the only real reason he turned me down is because I wasn't you… Honestly, I envy you in that sense." She paused for a moment. "Your tenth anniversary is coming up isn't it?"

"Yes?" I replied with a questioning look. What was she getting at?

"It would be the perfect present."

"You know I can't! The Styx – "

"Will understand. If you ask nicely."

I would like to believe that it was her charm magic that convinced me rather than her actual logic. After all, who would expect Aphrodite to actually make a reasonable argument? Certainly not me. Nonetheless, I did pay Lady Styx a visit. Apparently, she had been expecting me to visit at one point or another. She held that same knowing look in her eyes Aphrodite did.

Now, the Styx isn't one to let go of vows easily. I had assumed she would at least challenge me rather than just shrug it off and say okay. I have a feeling Aphrodite had already had a talk with her to get her to ease up so compliantly. But I partially didn't like the fact that my vow was null and void. Now I had no excuse to avoid this.

However, more so than that, I was completely excited. The pressure of eons of keeping my promise had let off of me. It was freeing. And knowing that the only man to take advantage of this opportunity would be Percy, well, it made all those years of abstinence worthwhile because he was worth it.

My only qualm was that I had no real knowledge in the matter. I'm an experienced goddess in many ways, a wiser one in even more respects but this was just not in my field. But there was no chance of me asking Aphrodite for advice. Besides, I had a feeling it would all just happen on its own and there would be little to worry about on my mind.

In fact, I figured that the only thing on my mind would be Percy - the man who had taught me what love is and made me the happiest woman and goddess to ever exist.

A/N: Okay, there you have it! A very delayed chapter, sorry about that but at least the time that has passed feels more realistic. I was kind of debating whether to make it between a length of 5 years or 10 but I settled on a decade. Plus, Athena may just have dark hair in the next chapter because uh, yeah it apparently is supposed to be dark. I don't know yet. I'm just getting back in the writing groove, have patience with me. Quick question though: Whose perspective would you like the rated M chapter in? Percy, Athena, or a third-person? Review and let me know!