Chapter Text
Artemis took a deep breath, before she screamed and fired an arrow. It landed in a tree trunk just next to Dionysus’ face. He flinched.
‘What… Artemis!’
Artemis ran towards him and grabbed his shoulders. ‘Idiot!’
‘What in the fresh hell…’
‘How could you just… Come on!’
‘I… what? What do you…’
‘She came all the way to me!’
‘Who? What?’ Dionysus calmed down a little. Artemis had shot her arrow past his body, not into it.
‘Just to tell me about…’
‘You mean Ariadne?’
‘Who else?’
‘Okay, what, I mean... she told you I proposed?’ He laid his hand over his face to hide a blush.
‘Hm. So you really did.’
He slowly nodded.
‘Idiot.’
‘Is that because of your principles?’ He raised an eyebrow.
Artemis sighed deeply. ‘Okay, yes, partly because of my principles. Yet all reasons of honour aside, may I know why? Why you proposed? Not out of any malice. I am just interested, since, well, Hermes and Apollo never got married since they thought it would ruin their freedom. And then here you are. God of freedom and anti-society, and…’ She held up her hands.
‘I love her... I mean, I don’t think she felt the need to get married, but she sure said yes. Anyway, I… I want to keep her close, but like, officially, not just as a girlfriend. ‘Girlfriend’ sounds like those girls Apollo falls in love with for the night. And, well, he really does fall in love, but like, differently what I feel for Ariadne, I think, so…’
Artemis lowered her arms, which made Dionysus go quiet. ‘If you say so.’ She kicked a stone away. ‘It’s okay, Dio. Contrary to what people believe, I do think love is real. I just don’t want it. What I don’t understand is how you can love someone else every single day, just…’
‘I don’t know either, Artemis.’
She glared at him. ‘Enough about that. Ariadne loves you. And if I ever hear a peep from her that you have so much as scratched her…’ Artemis clutched her bow and arrows, ‘... you are done for. Because not in my woods.’
Dionysus defensively held up his hands. ‘Not in my woods either, Artemis, you know that.’
‘No jokes. I’ll end you.’ She lowered her weapon again. ‘I’ll… make an exception. For my fellow forest god. One wedding allowed.’ Artemis pursed her lips. ‘I’ll even attend this time.’
Dionysus began to smile. ‘I’ll keep Aphrodite off your back.’
‘Appreciated.’
‘Cool.’
They heard someone walk down the path. Artemis narrowed her eyes. ‘That’s her.’ She pointed a finger at Dionysus. ‘Behave,’ she told him, before she dissappeared.