A Dishonored Demigod

First Dates

"Well, even the beast had Belle."~ Perseus
Bold- Power/Voice change
Italics- Thoughts

*One year later*
Two blurs blast through the pines of Alaska, one laughing and the other swearing,"D*** it Percy! Hold still! I'm gonna be late to take June out if you don't let me catch you!"
The first blur stops laughing and lands on a branch, making the entire tree sway,"Fine. Come on."
Alex lunges for him and tackles him out of the tree. As the two fall Percy reverses their positions so he lands on Alex's ribs. Any trace of humor is gone from his eyes as they turn blood red. He grabs Alex's leather coat and yanks him up so the two are just a hair apart as he snarls,"Listen here. I'm giving you a chance to take June out on a date, so if anything bad happens to her I will hunt you down and use Dyrwyn to slice off what makes you a man! Got it?!"
As he says it two crawler heads poke out of the shadows of his jacket and seem to grin at him. Alex pales and nods his head so he looks like a bobble head,"I got it! Let me up, and for Hades' sake put the crawler heads away! You know they creep everyone out!"
Percy grins and the crawlers vanish back into his coat,"Ah, but so effective in these sort of conversations."
The two get up and Alex's head reaches to the middle of Percy's upper arm as the former son of Poseidon stands tall at 6'3","Get going squirt. Your date is in 30 minutes."
Alex is gone an instant later, swinging branches are the only indication to the direction he went. Percy just sits down on one of the lower branches,"You're going to keep tabs on them right?"
Monique is next to him on an adjacent branch,"Yeah. Get out of here and go on your date with Zoë."
Percy blushes,"It's not a date, it's just dinner."
Monique smirks knowingly,"Yeah yeah. Get out of here Romeo."
Percy sighs at Monique and takes off into the air with an enlarged wingspan of twenty feet.
****
D*** her and her assumptions. Why does everyone think I'm taking Zoë on a date?! I'm just picking her up and taking her to dinner....crap. Yeah it sounds like I'm taking her on a date. I Blink around at high speed for five minutes straight and cover most of the distance to Mount Tam before I stop and actually fly the rest of the way. I land inside the garden and Arethusa greets me by hugging my waist and giggling,"Be careful with big sister. She's really nervous about your date."
I sigh,"It's not a date. It's just dinner."
She giggles,"Sureeeeee."
I pry her off my waist and place her on my shoulder. I walk into the garden and follow the familiar path to the cabin and the other Hesperides are standing in front of the door. I stop in front and cross my arms over my chest,"You gonna threaten me before we head out?"
The oldest shakes her head,"If anything happens to her you'll already have Hestia, Monique, June, and Hetalia after you. By the time we'd get to you you'd probably be dead."
They walk away and I mutter,"Well that's a comforting thought."
I sigh and fix my formal suit and straighten my sports jacket before knocking on the door,"Zoë? You about ready?"
I'm unprepared as the door opens and Zoë is in front of me. My jaw drops when I see her and she blushes,"Is this good for tonight?"
I move my mouth a few times in an attempt to speak and finally say,"You look stunning."
It's true too since her hair is done in a silky braid and she's wearing a pale blue dress that makes her pale skin glow. She looks down and her blush deepens,"T-Thank you. You look nice as well."
I smile,"Thanks." and extend a hand like a gentleman,"Shall we go then?"
She smiles a little,"Let's."
We walk out and I ask her a question,"Hey Zoë? Are you afraid of heights?"
She looks over to me with caution,"No. Why?"
I grin mischievously and wrap my arms around her waist,"Don't scream." and my wings propel us into the air.
I'm laughing as Zoë screams,"Perseus!"
I take us to a couple hundred feet and level off while I laugh until I'm crying,"Sorry about that Zoë. I needed something to distract me from June and Alex."
Zoë squirms in my grip and turns her head to look at me with undisguised anger,"As soon as we land I'm going to kill you."
I laugh and let go of her. Zoë closes her eyes and screams for a minute before opening her eyes to find herself floating next to me as a pale green glow surrounds her,"Wha?"
I fly next to her and look over with a grin,"I called in a lot of favors to learn that special enchantment. You're the first person I've used it on ."
She looks over at me with her volcanic eyes blazing,"You mean to say you've never used this on a person?!"
I snort,"Course not! I've tested this on some of the gods in the Japanese and Native American pantheons since they can catch themselves if I fail. You think I'd be crazy enough to test this thing on people who can't catch themselves if I screw up?"
I smile then,"Don't worry about falling. The enchantment will follow me through the air and land when I land. So for now, enjoy the view and the flight."
Zoë smiles, and after a few minutes loosens up enough to do some rolls through the air. I drop unexpectedly and she shrieks in surprise before laughing as I take us on a steep dive towards the ground and pull up to shoot us into the air to pierce through the clouds. Zoë is standing upright in her enchantment while my lion skin in coat form flaps from the wind my wings are whipping up. I smile as I watch her and my monster side gets a little loose, enough for my skin to pale and ink to tattoo all over my upper body and end in two triangles on the sides of my cheeks and my eyes to turn red. Zoë finally breaks away from looking at the moon and notices the changes,"Percy?"
I grin and run a hand over the side of my face,"Sorry about the tattoos. Fragment becomes more dominant during a crescent moon."
She runs a slender hand over the other triangle, getting a purr from me. I clap my hand over my mouth but it's too late as she giggles,"Did you just purr?!"
I try to deny it but she rubs the tattoo more and I lean into her touch and purr before pulling away by strength of will,"Please don't tell anyone about that."
She pouts,"Fine." then leans forward with a smirk on her face,"But you owe me."
I nod dumbly as she's right in front of me and I can smell flowers and the ocean scent from the garden. She backs off and I drop without a word. Zoë's enchantment causes her to follow me with a scream until I land on the roof of a skyscraper. Zoë lands softly and glares at me before I sweep her into a bridal carry. She blushes and I jump off while my wings fold against my body and the wind makes a small tornado under my feet to gently set us on the ground. I put Zoë down and she looks around,"Where are we?"
I point at the building a few blocks down and Zoë gapes,"Are you insane?! We're right under them!"
The Empire State Building looms over us and I nod,"I doubt they'd think I'd ever get this close to them. If they do interrupt dinner I'll just influence the mist and knock them out."
Zoë tries to argue but I don't give her the chance as I gently grab her hand and pull her along to the restaurant. The insert name here comes into sight fairly quickly and we walk into the place and go through the entrance to the reservation desk,"Mr.Fragment, reservation for two."
The host looks down at his clipboard,"Ah yes. Unfortunately right now we are out of available tables. I'm sure one will open up in a few minutes, if you are okay with waiting?"
Zoë answers for us,"That's fine."
The host turns away and Zoë whispers,"Don't cause a scene here or else the Olympians could find us. You might be fine with that but I'm not!"
I sigh but whisper back,"Fine! I won't go out of my way to cause a scene."
We wait for a few minutes and another group enters and the host instantly lets them through,"Mr.Tucker! We've kept your table available for you and your guests!"
They're ushered to a table and I use Dark Vision to look through the entire restaurant and find at least half of the tables are open. Zoë notices my eyes as they glow briefly and nudge my shoulder,"What's wrong?"
I feel my monster side getting a little stronger,"They're not going to seat us."
She scowls and sighs,"Get us seated please."
I nod,"Sure thing."
I walk up to the host and he moves his thumb over my name,"I'm sorry sir, but I can't seem to find your name here. If you wait a little while longer I'm sure your name will-"
I place a hand on the edge of the podium in front of him, and easily crush the wood under my grip,"I do believe my name is next on that list."
He nods quickly and says,"Please choose any table Mr.Fragment."
I smile and my eyes flash from a quick burst of Dark Vision,"Thank you."
Zoë gets up when she sees I'm done and stands next to me,"You got the table."
I nod,"Yeah. Come on, we've got free pick."
We pick a table next to a window overlooking a nearby park and I pass Zoë one of the menus that was sitting on the table and open my own. After a few minutes the waiter comes to take our orders and he writes down a angus steak, medium rare, for me and an eggplant with basil soup for Zoë. While we wait Zoë folds her fingers together,"So...is this what normal people call a date?"
I choke on my water and wipe my mouth with my napkin before answering,"I guess so. I've only ever been on one date before so...." and my voice trails off.
Zoë winces,"That girl huh? Does it still bother you?"
I shake my head,"Not anymore. I moved on earlier this year so it doesn't bother me at all."
Zoë nods absentmindedly and I look at her,"You okay there Zoë?"
She blushes and locks onto me,"Perseus?"
I take another drink from my water before I answer,"What's up?"
She rubs her arms like she's cold and I get up and put my lion skin over her shoulders before sitting down. Zoë seems to decide something before speaking again,"Percy. When you brought me back to life what did you have to sacrifice to power the spell?"
I'm a little shocked she's bringing it up now,"Nothing much. I just had to give you back Riptide."
Zoë shakes her head,"Riptide wasn't the only thing you sacrificed. Even though Riptide was a powerful weapon, its core, my power of the sea, was nearly gone. The only thing that you could've given up would be...." and her eyes widen,"You didn't."
I fill in her sentence with the answer,"My demigod powers as a spawn of Poseidon. I can't manipulate water without magic anymore but I can still speak marine animals and horses. And you already know I maintained my earthquake powers. I just gave up my power over the sea to recharge Riptide."
Zoë is in shock and asks,"Why did you do that? I know you'd only just gained the ability to use The Outsider's magic. Why would you give up a power you were familiar with and make yourself vulnerable? I don't think-"
I stop her before she can go on by reaching across the table and grabbing her hand and firmly saying,"Because I had a chance to right a wrong. You didn't deserve to die on that quest, and who am I to deny a person a new life if I can do something. Besides, I consider you a friend. I'm still human enough to be loyal to friends."
Zoë looks like she wants to say something but put food arrives and we eat quietly. When we're done she asks to be taken home and I fly us there in Blinks. We arrive in a few minutes and you can feel the tension in the air. I try to break it and start to say,"Zoë what's wr-" and I'm silenced when she kisses me.
Soft. That's the only thing I can think as she presses her lips against mine. Her lips are the softest thing I've ever felt. When we pull away she's blushing red in the darkness and I'm stuttering,"W-Wha?"
She smiles,"Thank you Percy, for everything."
She smiles and walks into her home while I'm left standing in the night, placing a hand on my lips as multiple voices cheer in my head,"Thats my host! Finally got the girl!"
"ShUt up yOu figMent!"
"It's Fragment, b****!"
I yell at the two voices in my head,"You two shut up! I'm still trying to figure out what just happened!"
Fragment is quiet before yelling,"Are you serious?! She just kissed you! She likes you. She likes you likes you!"
The two go silent as I groan and walk out of the garden,"I've gotta think about this. I'll sleep on it."
As I finish talking my cell phone rings and I answer it with annoyance clear in my voice,"What?!"
I hear yelling in the background and objects shattering as a familiar voice yells over the phone,"Fragment!"
I recognize the voice right away,"Bast?! What the hell is going on on your side?! It sounds like a war zone!"
She yells back,"That's because it is! We need help at the First Nome!"
I slip into business mode,"What's wrong over there? It sounds like I should come in guns blazing!"
She doesn't get to answer as a voice yells a spell and the line goes dead. Now I'm a little worried and race into the nearest shadow as multiple eyes open around me,"Where to monkey?"
I yell out,"First Nome!"
A second later I'm gone from the garden.
****
Zoë watches Percy leave with a small frown on her face as she brushes Arethusa's hair with an ivory comb,"It was too soon wasn't it?"
She giggles,"Maybe, but he does care for you. You know I'm the best with empathy readings!"
Zoë sighs,"I know. It's just hard after dealing with Hercules."
Arethusa faces her big sister with fire in her eyes,"He's nothing like that pig! You care about him and he cares about you. You can't go wrong with him!"
Zoë smiles and ponders out loud,"Where did he go this time?"
Arethusa smiles,"Somewhere fun!"