9 Chapter 9

With a smile, Rhea glanced at Aphrodite and Athena, gleefully amused at their embarrassment and confusion. Running her fingers along the edge of the page, she winked at the two goddesses as she began to read.

"You look so handsome~"

Naruto smiled at his lover, silently wondering how his little princess was so adept at choosing his clothes. Instead of his usual grey jeans and black dress-shirt, he was wearing his daughter's selection, which included a pair of black formfitting jeans with a white belt, a simple purple t-shirt under a black sports coat that both did little to hide his muscular frame and a pair of black leather boots. It was much more formal and heavy than what he was used to, but seeing the guest list of the day, it should work fine.

Oblivious to Rhea's amusement, Dite bit her lower lip with a smile, "Mmm, Mama likes~" She ruffled her daughter's hair, "Great job, baby. You have a great eye for fashion."

Lace giggled, "I know."

"Thanks, your daughter picked it out." Naruto smiled as the Love Goddess giggled at the thought, "She said I look boring with my usual clothes."

"It's better than that orange sweater you used to wear in class," said Athena, who was smiling at the father of her child. "Even in the large symposium rooms, I could find you right away because of that monstrosity."

Thea smirked, "I'm glad he got rid of that monstrosity."

Naruto chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, "Well, you eventually talked me out of it."

"Nagging even back then, I see." Dite sighed and shook her head, "It's a wonder that he still loves you so much."

"I am not starting this with you again."

Dite ignored Thea's brush aside and turned away, "I guess you really are a quick learner in bed." Thea was shaking in her seat and Athena's face nearly glowed gold. "Maybe I shouldn't have taught you so much."

Seeing the gold rush to both Goddesses of Wisdom, the sparks coming off Zeus' Master Bolt, and the disturbing smirks on the younger gods' faces, Hestia turned to her mother. "Mother, stop smiling and just read!"

Rhea giggled again, "Sure, dear."

Standing in the small entrance of the home, the Goddesses Athena and Aphrodite stood, smiling at their love. Rhea, Hestia and Artemis were slowly walking through the door, all wondering if Athena was being serious about finding a husband. They all knew that if Athena and Aphrodite were to fight over Naruto, it would be the Adonis incident with Persephone all over again, but greatly amplified.

Dite shrugged, "It didn't turn out too badly."

"No spoilers!" called out Apollo.

If Aphrodite really loved Naruto so much and if Athena were to plan to steal him for herself, it could result in cataclysmic destruction. The last thing they wanted to see was the city of New York burned to the ground under the two Goddess' power.

The Demigods shuddered at the thought.

Naruto glanced at the other Goddesses standing behind the mothers of his children before looking back at Athena and Aphrodite, "So, is everything okay?" He had been worried about the implications of his loves coming to visit him so often and wondered if they would get in trouble. "Nothing bad is happening, right?"

Aphrodite smiled and hugged one of his arms, "Don't worry, everything is fine."

Athena narrowed her eyes at the Love Goddess, but refocused on Naruto. "So, where are the girls?" she asked with a sweet smile. "I think it's time I officially meet my daughter."

"Oo, is there where you meet the girls?" asked Rhea.

Thea smiled, "Yes."

Naruto bit his lip and gestured to the living room, "T-They're in the living room watching a movie." He stepped closer to the Goddesses of Love and War and whispered, "Please be discreet about this, okay? The girls never really asked about their mothers, but I'm sure that they really want to meet the two of you, so just be delicate about it."

"Trust me, Naruto," said Athena as she smiled and placed a soft hand on his cheek.

"Wow, Athena is being much more forward than what I expected," muttered Demeter with a sly grin. "I'm so proud!"

Athena cursed her golden face as she glanced over at her counterpart, wondering if they were somehow fundamentally different in some ways. With her infinite wisdom and thousands of years of experience, she couldn't fathom falling in love with a mortal man, much less forsake her vow for him.

Thea sensed the gaze of her counterpart and averted her eyes, resorting to glaring at Dite, who had a permanent grin on her face.

"The last thing I want is for either of the girls to be hurt or confused; I will ease into the fact that I'm Annabeth's mother. I won't tell her until I've gotten to know her and she feels comfortable towards me."

Naruto smiled and nodded with a slight sigh of relief, "Thank you…"

Aphrodite glared slightly at Athena for her intimate touches and grunted, "Come on Owl-Head, let's just go meet the girls." She pulled the Wisdom Goddess by the arm, "I've waited a very long time for this and don't you dare ruin it for me." The Love Goddess turned back to Naruto and smiled lovingly at him, "And don't worry about me either, I'm sure Lacy and I will get along great."

Aphrodite smiled, "That I have no doubt at all." She pulled Lacy closer and rested her cheek against her daughter's soft hair. "She's my baby girl."

Dite giggled as she held her own smiling Lacy in her arms, "That's a given."

"I know you will." Naruto could only wonder how much his youngest princess would love her mother; they were almost exactly the same person and he knew that they would utterly adore each other.

Naruto watched as the loves of his life walk towards the living room, and he couldn't help but feel nervous at the sight. Ever since the days he first held his baby daughters in his arms, he had been wondering if they would ever meet their mothers. After many hours of wondering and dreams of it happening, he didn't know how to react when it was actually happening. He wanted nothing more than for his daughters to have a complete family – a mother and a father in their little home – and have a happy and safe childhood. Hopefully, with the Goddesses back in his life, his daughters would have something like that.

Annie smiled at the thoughtfulness of her father, and shook her head when Lace looked as clueless as ever, obviously too young to comprehend what was read. But what surprised the young daughter of Athena was the frown on her counterpart's face. She had nearly forgotten that they were in a different universe; in this universe, her last name wasn't Namikaze.

Annabeth saw her younger counterpart looking at her direction, and offered a smile back.

Annie made a note to talk to her older self later.

"It is as they say," said a sudden voice that knocked Naruto out of his thoughts. "You don't have to worry; they both love their daughters and would never hurt them." Hestia smiled at the father of the children and calmed him with her powers, "I'm sure the girls will love having their mothers in their lives."

"Yeah, you're right…" Naruto smiled at the kind Goddess, "And I guess I should have known who you were a lot sooner, Lady Hestia."

"Ha!" Demeter laughed, "For someone who has met two other goddesses, he should have got the moment he met Tia."

Hestia smiled and waved it off, "It's perfectly understandable; I'm not the most recognizable Goddess." She turned to gesture to her mother and her niece with a smile, "And while I'm quite sure you've figured it out already, this is my mother, Rhea, the Titaness of Motherhood and Beauty and the Mother of the Olympians; this is Artemis, Goddess of the Moon and Hunt."

Almost shivering at the piercing gaze of the Goddess of the Hunt, Naruto gave a bow. "It's an honor, Lady Rhea, Lady Artemis."

Rhea smiled and nodded at the young man, "No need to be so formal, young man." She took off her jacket and looked rather casual for such a powerful woman, "This is your home and we are here as visiting family. Just relax and treat us to a relaxing day of baking and carving."

Naruto relaxed at Rhea's expression; she was just like Hestia with her warmness. "I'll be sure to."

"And there is no need to be so frightened of me," muttered Artemis with her arms crossed. "I will only turn men I detest into jackalopes, and so far, you have done nothing to wrong me."

"Considering what he will eventually do to my sister, perhaps my other self should have intervened in some way." Artemis' eyes glowed a pale silver as she looked at a frowning Thea and annoyed Dite. "If I may, how does the other me think of the situation?"

Thea looked at her favourite sister's counterpart, "She is very supportive." She smiled at Artemis' surprise, "I have her word and support. She is my sister and my closest friend; as long as I am happy, she will be on my side."

Artemis glanced over at Athena and sighed, "I see."

Thea gave a radiant smile, "Artemis is actually my Maid of Honor." Dite giggled and nodded along. "As much as she complains about it, she has been one of the most helpful."

"Oh," muttered the Goddess of the Hunt, her eyes wide in surprise.

Apollo laughed, "That's something I never thought I'd hear."

"Hestia will be my Maid of Honor," chirped Dite as she winked at a gleeful Hestia, "So we'll have two Virgin Goddesses as Maids of Honor."

Hera sighed, "If only this will happen in our world."

Rhea smiled and decided to read on.

Naruto nodded, "Thank you, Lady Artemis."

Artemis stared at the smiling face of the man who stole her sister's heart, and sighed. "I guess I can accept this."

Thea smiled, "I know you can." She glanced at Athena, who was silent throughout, and gave her a nod.

Athena simply nodded back.

Hestia smiled at the interaction and linked her arms with Artemis', "Come on Arty, let's go see how your sister is doing."

Lacy had her arms crossed as she pouted at her sister. No matter how much she plead to Annabeth, she won't let her watch How To Train Your Dragon and bullied her into watching Troy – a movie their dad had always tried to avoid showing them.

Hestia frowned, "You're both a bit too young to watch that movie."

Annie blushed and Lace nodded at her favorite teacher, "That's what I said!"

Lacy understood why; no matter how cool or epic Annabeth thought the movie was, the blood and gore, and the slightly awkward love scenes made Lacy uncomfortable…though the characters in the film were very handsome, especially the long haired blond man and the young prince.

"Look at that~" Lacy looked behind her and saw the pretty red-haired lady smiling at the television. "Brad Pitt as Achilles and Orlando Bloom as Paris are just perfect, and Sean Bean as Odysseus is delightful."

"Achilles looked nothing like Brad Pitt," muttered Demeter.

"And Paris was even more girly looking than in the movie," added Apollo.

Aphrodite had seen Troy multiple times; she had always said that it was one of Apollo's best works in Hollywood. The Goddess smiled down at her little girl and winked, "Don't you think so, sweetie?"

Dite smiled, "Our first conversation!"

Lacy grinned and nodded at the friendly lady, "Yep, the long haired blond guy and the young prince are cool!"

"As I've always said, this movie is vastly inaccurate."

Dite frowned, "But then the buzzkill arrives!"

Thea merely rolled her eyes.

Athena smiled when she noticed her daughter look up at her the moment she said those words; she knew Annabeth would notice the inaccuracies and would appreciate the mention. "They took out the majority of the Trojan War and Olympus' involvement."

"I couldn't agree more," said Annabeth as she looked over at the grey-eyed lady. "They completely omitted the Apple of Discord and the Goddesses Athena, Hera and Aphrodite."

All the Goddesses involved and their counterparts turned away at the reminder of perhaps their most ridiculous moment.

The two Goddesses bit their lips at the reminder of their rather immature moments…

'I can't believe I actually cared if I was more beautiful than Hera and the pile of foam.'

'I still think that Paris chose right; I am so much prettier than Owl-Head and Lady Hera.'

Immediately, Hera and both Athenas looked annoyed and both Goddesses of Love winked at each other. But before any of them could speak out, Rhea cleared her throat. "No, we are not going through his argument again." The Titaness stared at the Goddesses, daring them to go against her word, "Be quiet and just enjoy the story."

All the Goddesses wisely relented, lest they incur the wrath of the ultimate mother.

"They took out the choice of Paris, Aphrodite's gift, and how Poseidon and Athena worked together to create the chariot." Annabeth sipped on a cup of hot chocolate as she stared at the television. "That was the disappointing part; I wanted to see how Poseidon made horses from sea foam." She smiled and looked at the ladies, "Though Athena was still the smarter one; who cares about horses when you don't have the chariot-cart."

Poseidon rolled his eyes as Athena and Thea smirked.

"I can't agree more." Athena smiled at her daughter and nodded, "People give Poseidon far too much credit sometimes, especially when it comes to the contest between being the Patron God of Athens."

"Oh, will you get over yourself!" Both Goddesses of Wisdom simply chose to ignore the Sea God, resorting to smirking at themselves.

"Oh yeah, the olive tree is so much better; it's real genius that has many uses even in modern days."

Athena sat down next to the girl with a perpetual smile, "You're really smart, Annabeth; not many people see the practicality of olives and how much it had effected western civilization." The girl smiled and blushed a little, "And I'm surprised you know so much about the Trojan War; not many girls so young have such an interest in ancient warfare."

"It's not necessarily ancient warfare; I just really like studying on Ancient Greek Mythology!" Annabeth smiled at the lady, happy that there was someone who she could talk to about such things. "I really like reading about all the epic tales, especially the Odyssey; Odysseus is probably my favorite ancient Greek hero; he is just so smart about his quest."

Athena smiled proudly, "Good choice."

Thea smiled along and kissed Annie's hair, "Of course."

"I agree, instead of punching and slashing his way through like almost every other hero, Odysseus uses his mind and strategy to find his way back to his wife." Athena smiled and patted the girl's soft blonde hair that was so much like her father's, "It's really a beautiful story."

"Yep, I make dad read it to me before bed."

Athena smiled proudly at her daughter; unknown to most people, it was her who kept precise details of the many epic tales of the ancient time and she whispered into the ears of Homer and Hesiod; each and every one of their words had come from her and their tales had become immortal. Athena was quite proud of her ancient texts and how prominent it still was in modern times, especially since it had become the favorite of her special daughter.

"Man, talk about a boring conversation," whispered Aphrodite while shaking her head; even with Naruto's ever-whimsical personality, Annabeth still inherited far too much of her mother's obsession with literature.

Annie pouted at Dite, "It's not boring, Dite!"

"Aww," gushed Dite as she kissed Annie's cheek, "It's not your fault if you think that, honey."

Lacy, who heard the lady's words clearly, giggled and covered her mouth. "Yeah, Annie always talks about these things and they are just so boring."

Annie glared at Lace, "Not boring!"

"Says you," replied the smirking daughter of Aphrodite.

Aphrodite winked at her daughter as she sat down next to her, "I know, right? I don't get how she could go on and on about these things without falling asleep halfway through."

"You should listen to Annie talk about architecture; I swear it's better than daddy's lullabies." Lacy giggled softly and tried to hide their conversation from her sister and the grey-eyed lady, who were still talking about some Greek poet. "She gets mad at me when I fall asleep when she's talking, but it's hard to stay awake when it's so boring!"

"Yeah, they expect us to pay attention and stay awake, and they just don't know how hard it is!" Lacy nodded enthusiastically, ecstatic that the pretty lady was just like her.

Rhea stopped to look at the mother and daughter with a smile, "It's adorable how similar you all are."

"It's as if her clothes aren't boring enough," she muttered as she glanced at the outfit Athena was wearing – she looked like a librarian.

Thea glared at Dite, nearly identical to how Annie was glaring at Lace.

"Hey, Naruto like them, so don't listen to me." Dite brushed off the glare, "It's not like I know anything about fashion and what Naruto likes."

"Totally!" exclaimed Lacy as she leaned closer to the lady. "Annie dresses like an old lady! Even when she goes to school to see her little boyfriend, she still chooses to wear her usual grey and blue clothes. I had to force her to wear that green sundress this morning; if I didn't than Percy would just get tired of her boring clothes!"

Aphrodite kissed Lacy's forehead, "You're really good at these things, aren't you?"

"Yep!" Lacy grinned and bounced slightly on the couch, "Daddy says that I get it from my mommy! I bet my mommy is just the coolest lady ever!"

Lace giggled, "She totally is!"

Dite and Aphrodite both winked at the girl.

The Goddess giggled and couldn't help but wrap an arm around her little girl's shoulders, "You are just the cutest and sweetest girl, ever!"

Naruto stood behind the four most important people in his life and rubbed his eyes. Ever since six years ago – when Annabeth first asked for her mommy – he had been hoping that one day, his little girls will get a chance to meet their mothers. For so many years, he had convinced himself that it was never going to happen; Goddesses were far out of reach and they had no care for his earthly woes, but he had been proven wrong. The sight of Annabeth chatting with Athena with sparkly eyes and of Lacy and Aphrodite laughing and giggling together brought him to tears. His family was complete.

Ares groaned, "Come on, what a little bitch."

Aphrodite glared at him before speaking, "Ares, just shut up and slap yourself."

The God of War growled as his hand came to slap himself across the face, knocking his melting glasses to the ground. He glared at his laughing family and turned away with clenched teeth.

Dite smiled at her counterpart, "Don't worry. He'll eventually learn his lesson."

Everyone shivered at the coldness in her voice and could only wonder what she had done to the Ares in her world.

Thea smiled at Dite, "You have no idea how much I look forward to it."

Dite winked at her sister, "Same here."

Ares felt as if Tartarus was calling for him.

A soft hand patted his shoulder, "You have a beautiful family."

"Thank you, Lady Hestia." Naruto wiped his eyes and smiled at the kind Goddess. "It's just a little surreal that my daughters are finally bonding with their mothers."

"Believe me, young man," started Rhea as she smiled at the sight. "Every mother in the world loves their children, and it is no different with Goddesses. Leaving their babies with you were probably the most difficult things they will ever do, especially since they genuinely care for you, and now that they've finally met the little girls, their love for them will only grow." The Titaness of Motherhood gently held onto Hestia's hand, "There is nothing stronger than a mother's love, young man, that I can assure you."

Artemis smiled and nodded along, thinking about her own mother. 'I should go visit mother soon; I'll grab Apollo with me as well, I'm sure she'd want to see us after so long.'

The Twins looked at each other and nodded.

"Daddy!" cried Lacy as she saw her daddy standing behind them. "Were you listening in?!"

Aphrodite shook her head mockingly at Naruto with a sly wink, "For shame, Naruto; this is private girl talk; no boys allowed."

"Don't worry, I didn't hear anything." Naruto lifted his little girl into his arms and smiled when she wrapped her little arms around his neck; he kissed her cheek and looked down at his lover. "Come on; let's start carving pumpkins and baking cookies." He carried Lacy in his arms as he ruffled her hair, "And yes, I did but the dove cookie cutter for you, princess."

His youngest smiled and nodded, "Thanks daddy."

He smiled at his eldest, who was still watching a movie with her mother, and felt incredibly amused when he saw how similar they looked when they focused. Almost exactly like her mother, Annabeth's brows would furrow as she thought about the movie – the mistakes it made – and her grey eyes would darken whenever someone did something stupid. With both Annabeth and Athena sitting next to each other, Naruto marveled at how alike the looked; his daughter will grow up to be just as beautiful as her mother.

"Come on Annie, you can finish the movie later."

Annabeth bit her lip and gave her dad a pleading look, "But dad, Patrolocus just died and Achilles is about to go crazy."

Athena nodded as she crossed her arms, "Yeah, this is one of the more accurate scenes of the movie."

Artemis rolled her eyes and sighed, "We all know how that ends." The Huntress could still remember all the hunters she had gathered during the final moments of the Trojan War; the sack of Troy left hundreds of homes in ruin and Artemis saved most of the maidens before they were raped by the men – she also turned at least two hundred men into jackalopes. "Come on Thea, I want Tia's Peanut Butter Cookies."

"That's the only reason you're there, right?" asked Apollo.

"I'm also there to make sure my sister is going to be okay." Artemis held her head high as she looked away from her brother.

"Sure~"

The Wisdom Goddess sighed, "Fine."

Annabeth stood along with the nice grey-eyed lady and walked up to her dad. "So what are we going to do now?"

Naruto smiled and ruffled her princess curls, "Let's bake some cookies."

Over the years, Naruto had spent many hours in his kitchen, and he liked to think that he had mastered cooking and baking treats, but after seeing how a real master does it, he knew he was wrong. It was Hestia at first; the Goddess' hands moved like the wind when handling the ingredients and mixers, but then Rhea stepped in. The mother of the gods was even more advanced; her arms whipped the batters better and faster than his electric mixer. Between the two Goddesses, they made over a hundred cookies in less than one hour with only one oven – Naruto wondered if they used some magic to make his oven bigger. In the end, he just left his batter uncooked on the table; there was no point anymore.

He settled with helping the girls clear the tables and clean the used plates.

Lace frowned, "I like daddy's cookies, too!"

"Me, too." Annie added.

Hestia and Rhea smiled at the girls, and the latter added, "That's because your father poured his heart into making you two those treats."

"Don't feel bad," whispered a soft voice from his side. "Those two are perhaps the best cooks that ever existed, so there is no shame in losing to them."

Naruto smiled at his lover and discreetly gave her a wink, "Losing is not the word, more like completely destroyed." He looked at his girls, who were both chowing down on the mountain of cookies with gleeful expressions on their greasy faces. "But whatever, as long as the princesses likes the cookies."

Aphrodite giggled, "They aren't the only ones."

Naruto looked over his shoulder and almost chuckled at the sight of Lady Artemis happily munching on her own platter of cookies.

Apollo laughed at the image as Artemis turned a new shade of gold.

"There's the Goddess of Gluttony!" Demeter giggled as she looked at her niece, "You have cheeks like a chipmunk!"

"Okay, that's enough," Rhea smiled at Artemis as she spoke, "I think it's adorable."

For the first time since he had first seen her, this was the first time he'd seen a smile on the Goddess' face. He had to admit, when Artemis wasn't glaring at him with her scary piercing eyes, she was nearly as beautiful as Athena and Aphrodite.

Zeus was still silently seething and swore to himself that if this mortal corrupts his other favourite daughter, he'd find a way over to his dimension and destroy him.

"I'm guessing Lady Hestia and Lady Rhea's cooking is popular on Olympus?"

"Oh yeah," said Athena, joining the conversation before Aphrodite could say anything. "Aunt Hestia usually cooks for everyone during the Olympic Games, and sometimes we would have to stop some of the Gods from eating too much before they compete."

Despite being a little peeved that her privacy with Naruto was interrupted, Aphrodite giggled. "Yeah, I still remember how Hermes lost the Hundred-Meter Dash because he ate too much. Hestia was happy, but he was groaning about losing to Apollo for the first time in a thousand years."

Hermes gave his sunny brother the stink-eye and only got a bright grin in return.

Naruto chuckled; he could only wonder how human the Gods could act. All the mental images of the Gods he had created in his mind after reading all his books were slowing changing into something else entirely.

"Okay, who wants to taste to cake frosting?"

"ME, ME, ME!"

"I do!"

"I would love to!"

At this point, everyone, even Thalia and the Hunters couldn't help but laugh at the scene. Artemis sank deeper into her throne as looked as if she was touched by Midas.

"Don't laugh at her," chided Rhea with an amused smile of her own. "I'm so happy she still has a childish side to her."

Hestia nodded, "I agree." She gave her niece a smile, "I'll make sure to make you as many cookies as you want later."

Artemis groaned as the laughter returned and refused to look at anyone.

…though the promise of limitless cookies made her tremble with excitement.

Annabeth and Lacy stared at Artemis, who couldn't help but appear flushed at everyone's stares. Her aunt and grandmother only smiled lovingly at her, but the amused smirk on Athena's face, the laugh of Aphrodite and the pursed lips of the mortal man made her incredibly embarrassed.

"N-Never mind…"

"Oh come on!" Lacy giggled as she ran to Artemis and grabbed her hand. "The frosting is going to be really good!"

Artemis stared at Aphrodite's daughter and couldn't help but smile at her; the little girl was adorable and she could never resist such a sweet smile. It reminded her of the younger hunters in her camp, and since Lacy was technically her little surrogate niece, Artemis just couldn't say no. She gave the girl a small hug and allowed her to pull her towards the frosting, with Lacy giggling innocently the whole way.

'I guess the daughters of Aphrodite could be really cute.'

Annabeth, who was enjoying tasting a frosting spoon with a bright smile, handed another spoon for Artemis, who smiled and accepted it. She was seriously starting to like her two little nieces, and if they ever needed protection from men, she would happily accept them into her hunt.

"Not if I can do anything to stop it!" Dite shook her head, "No daughter of mine will go snif deer droppings."

Artemis was still too embarrassed to say anything back.

Actually, she would invite them right then, but she doubt their parents would allow them to start hunting monsters.

"Naruto would be so worried, that would never happen." Thea smiled, "I'm sorry, sister, but the girls will stay home with us."

Rhea smiled and patted Artemis' head, "Okay girls, have a taste!"

Hestia giggled at the sight and shook her head fondly, 'If only Persephone were here; she'd love the girls and the food.' She smiled at Artemis, who looked like she was a little baby Goddess again, 'Actually, she and Artemis might fight over the food, so I guess not.'

Demeter smiled fondly at the mention of her favorite daughter, "She's still a child at heart." Such thoughts only made her glare at Hades.

Hades sighed and simply chose to ignore her.

"Oh, that is so cute~"

For once, Athena nodded along to Aphrodite's words. "It's been a while since I've seen Artemis so giddy."

Naruto smiled, 'My princesses can warm up to anyone, especially their aunts, it seems.'

In the next few hours, Hestia and Rhea made six cakes, each looking more gorgeous than the last. There were over two hundred cookies on his dinner table, six cakes on the countertop, a never-ending supply of hot chocolate on the stove, and of course, three carved pumpkins in the living room. Naruto carefully took pictures of each of them. First, there was the one Rhea, Hestia and Artemis carved, which looked amazing with countless small cuts and carvings that looked impossible – thanks to thousands of years using hunting knives, Artemis easily sliced up the pumpkin.

Naruto smiled warmly when he saw the one Annabeth and Athena carved; it was a traditional jack-o-lantern that was made into perfection. Every single cut was made precisely and carefully; it was as if the genius mother-daughter tag team measured every single cut and calculated on which part of the pumpkin's surface area should they start on. Everything was perfect, and judging on the smug smiles on Athena and Annabeth's faces, they thought so too.

Annie smiled proudly at the image, making Thea ruffle her hair.

'Oh dear mothers of my children!'

Naruto couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Lacy and Aphrodite's pumpkin. Its face was made into a wink; its opened eye was in the shape of a heart and the smirk the mother and daughter carved almost looked like the Nike Logo. There were stars and other hearts decorating the outer edges of the pumpkin, and to finish it off, one of them added some lipstick on it – pink lipstick. It was certainly unique, and based on the proud hug Lacy gave Aphrodite, Naruto was quite sure it was perfect for them, too.

"Next year's is going to be even better!" Dite chirped while she hugged her giggling daughter.

"There we go," said Athena with a smile. "The candle should hold nicely in the slight hole we made at the bottom."

Annabeth smiled proudly at her pumpkin and nodded, "I agree!"

"That looks boring, Annie!" Lacy shook her head at her sister, even when Annabeth glared at her. "It looks just like the usual pumpkins we see everywhere; why don't you try changing it up a little, like we did?" She pointed at her winking pumpkin and smirked, "Ours look way cooler!"

"Yep!" chirped Aphrodite as she gave her little girl a high-five.

"It's not boring," started Athena with her arms crossed. "It is traditional and is perfectly executed in every way."

"Yeah, like very traditional, just like your clothes, Thea~"

"My clothes are not boring."

"You'd be right if we were in the fifties!" Aphrodite smirked as Athena started to seethe in anger and she looked down at Annabeth, "Listen to me, Annie, traditional isn't always good; sometimes you have to be innovative and try new things to look gorgeous."

"That's what I always say to her!" Lacy nodded up at the Love Goddess as she pointed to Annabeth. "Anymore plain grey shirts and blue jeans, and she'd turn into an old lady!"

"I am not an old lady!" Annabeth glared at her sister as Athena glared at Aphrodite. "And grey and blue looks good to me!"

Lacy sighed and shook her head, "Who cares if you like it? What would you do when your boyfriend thinks you're boring?"

"I don't have a boyfriend!"

"Am I safe to assume that this happens every day?" asked Rhea.

Thea's silence and Dite sheepish smile answered her question.

Naruto sighed and just sat down on the couch, rubbing his temples as he tried to think of ways to stop the argument. It was fine when it was only his two daughters, but with their mothers also going at it, he was a little intimidated. Off to the side, Rhea and Hestia were simply smiling at the conversation; they were happy to see such similarities between mothers and daughters. Artemis, though, just didn't care and continued to snack on the never-ending supply of cookies.

Artemis sighed and looked down again, the gold returning to her cheeks as Apollo's laughter rang through the halls.

~Ding-Dong~

Naruto looked up at his doorbell ringing, but he wasn't as fast as Lacy.

"Ha!" The little girl grinned as she pointed at the door. "Percy is here, so how about we ask him if you're boring?!"

"It's me again!" Percy hugged Annabeth closer with a smile, making Annie blush up a storm.

"Don't you dare, you annoying little troll!"

Naruto sighed and headed for the door, hoping the pointless bickering would stop soon. He was actually looking forward to having Sally and Percy over; even though it was a little weird now that Aphrodite told him about Sally's feelings for him, it was nice to have other normal people in the house. He had gotten used to having the immortals in his home in the past few hours, but it was still a little more relaxing to know that he wasn't the only none godly person in his home – even his princesses were half Goddesses.

"Hey Sally!" greeted Naruto as he smiled at his best employee.

The pretty brunette smiled back at her boss, "Hey Naruto, sorry we're a bit late."

"No problem." Naruto smiled down at Percy, who looked up at him with a happy grin. "And Percy, you look taller every time I see you!" He ruffled the boy's hair, chuckling at the smiling on his face. "You are going to be taller than me soon!"

"He seems so cool," said Percy with a smile as he turned to Annabeth. "I think he'd allow it if I asked you out before you turn 18, right?"

Annabeth sighed, "Stop teasing her."

Lace giggled, "I'm sure he'd allow it!"

"Shut up, Lace!" cried the tomato Annie.

"Silence, Percy Jackson!" Thea barred her grey eyes at the young man, "Even if Naruto would allow it, you still need my permission!"

Percy grimaced, "Now that might be a problem for the other me."

"Hi, Sally!" Annabeth sneaked out behind her father's legs and smiled at her best friend's mother. "It's nice to see you again."

Sally giggled and nodded at the smart girl, "Nice to see you too, Annabeth."

The daughter of Athena smiled before she grabbed Percy's hand and pulled him in the house. "Come on, Seaweed Brain, come on in."

Percy smiled and rolled his eyes, "Relax, Wise Girl."

Naruto chuckled at the nicknames and invited Sally inside, "Yeah, please come in, Sally." He led the woman into the living room with a smile, "There are some people I want to introduce you to." With Annabeth walking Percy in ahead of them, he led his employee inside, looking back to all the Goddesses and Titaness sitting on his couches. "You've already met Dite." he said without his daughters listening since for all they know, he had only met the red haired lady that morning. "These are my neighbors; they just moved in recently and came to help out for Halloween."

"That's nice," Sally replied with a sweet smile.

Naruto gestured to Athena first, then moved to the others, "This is Thea, Arty, their mother Rhea, and of course, Ms. Hess, who just moved next door."

"Ms. Hess!" greeted Sally with a smile, "It's nice to see you again!"

Hestia stood and gave the woman a warm smiled, "It's nice to see you too, Mrs. Jackson." She gestured to the others and smiled again, "My sisters and mother and I just moved next door, so we came to help out for Halloween."

Rhea smiled, "Yeah, the girls are adorable, so we came to bake them some cookies."

"Yeah, it's so fun!" Aphrodite stood and stepped next to Sally to whisper in her ear. "By the way, the girls don't know about Naruto and I, so please keep quiet about it."

Sally nodded with a small smile. "Got it…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the silence from Athena and Artemis, who both looked at Sally with frowns.

Poseidon sighed, "Oh, this is going to be so troublesome."

Percy nodded, "Yeah, but at least the other me is oblivious."

"Dite!" cried Lacy happily as she gestured to Percy, who was still quietly chatting with Annabeth in the corner about something – no doubt the daughter of Athena was telling the boy her demands of the day. "That's the Percy I was talking about!"

"Yes, I see." Aphrodite forced a smile at her daughter and nodded. "Nice looking boy."

Aphrodite giggled, "Still my favourite couple in our world."

Dite grinned as she poked at Annie's side, "And probably will become my favourite couple from my world."

Hestia took Sally's arm and gestured to the kitchen, "Come on Sally, we made some cookies. Come try some with Percy." Sally smiled at the idea; Hestia led her into the kitchen and called Annabeth, Lacy and Percy to follow her. "Come on kids, come have some more cookies."

"Yeah, the cookies are amazing!" Annabeth pulled Percy along with a smile.

Lacy winked at Aphrodite and mouthed, "I told you they liked each other!"

After the kids along with Hestia and Sally stepped into the kitchen, Naruto turned to the Goddesses and Rhea with a raised eyebrow. They were all silent and the mood felt very serious; it was as if something really bad had happened. Even Aphrodite had a frown on her face.

"Is something wrong?"

Ignoring her lover for the moment, Aphrodite turned to Athena. "That boy…you sensed it too, right?" Athena nodded with a deep frown, her grey eyes hardening as she crossed her arms. "He's of the sea; those green eyes of his prove it all."

"So that stupid Barnacle Beard broke his oath as well," muttered Athena darkly, "Why am I not surprised?"

"At least I only broke it once…" muttered Poseidon as his brother glared at him.

Artemis sighed and shook her head, "I'm guessing Father doesn't know about him yet, or else he'd be dead."

Aphrodite turned to Rhea, "Did you know about this, Lady Rhea?"

"Yes I did; Hestia noticed it the day she met the boy." The mother of the gods frowned and closed her eyes, "Believe me, I gave Poseidon a stern talking to, but in the end we can't change the fact that the boy was born." She gave the younger immortals a rather serious stare, "We must not allow his existence to leak out; as dangerous as his presence is, he is my grandson and I do not want to see him end up like my little granddaughter, Thalia."

"I wonder what happened to me," Thalia pondered as she looked at Annabeth. "Without you there, things might have changed."

Annabeth frowned, "I guess something similar still happened."

Hermes remained silent, but was anxious to find out more about Luke.

"Okay, what's going on?" asked Naruto, looking at Aphrodite and Athena.

"Naruto," started Aphrodite with a frown on her face. "That Percy boy; he is like Annabeth and Lacy." Naruto's eyes widened at her words, "He is a demigod; precisely, he is a son of Poseidon."

"Poseidon?!"

"One of the Big Three, God of the Seas and King of Atlantis," muttered Rhea with a shake of her head, "And my second youngest son."

"Dumbass Kelp-for-Brains," whispered Athena under her breath.

Poseidon scoffed as Athena smirked.

"There is nothing we can do about it now," said Artemis as she stood up. "Let's just ignore it for now and continue what we're doing naturally; if we don't say anything or act any differently, Father shouldn't be able to sense him." She sighed and shook her head as she looked at Naruto, "But you shouldn't have him and the two girls together all the time; with all three demigods together at once, their scent will be much stronger and will attract much more monsters."

"Unless when we're there as well." Dite shrugged, "Which is pretty much all the time."

Naruto nodded, "I understand."

Athena stood and gestured to the kitchen, "Come on; let's just keep on doing what we were doing."

"Right," said Rhea with a smile. "We still have to go shopping for costumes!"

Olympus – Ares' Temple

"Finally!" Ares smirked, "Let's kick some ass!"

For the past month, the God of War had been angry at the Goddess of Love. They had been together for thousands of years, but for the past few years, the Goddess had been giving him the cold shoulder. Even after he killed Adonis all those centuries ago, Aphrodite had only been angry at him for one day; Ares just couldn't figure out what he did wrong. Something must have happened to make his lover completely avoid him, and not understanding the reason behind it made Ares want to go on a rampage.

'Where the fuck are you, Dite?!' cried the God of War angrily inwardly, his fiery eyes melting his sunglasses.

He hadn't gotten laid by the Goddess of Love for over six years and he was seriously missing it. She was the most beautiful woman in existence and no one else could compare to her. Ares had a serious case blue-balls and he knew only one Goddess would satisfy him.

Aphrodite felt her anger surge, but when she looked at her counterpart, she only shook her head with a smile.

Now if only he could remember where she was six years ago; which one of her human lovers was she with six years ago. The God of War had a feeling that the Love Goddess was still with that same human, and that just didn't sit well with him.

'When I find that human I'll rip him to shreds!'

"EROS!" cried Ares as loud as he could for his son with Aphrodite. "Come help me, I need to find your mom!"

"Ares, I hope you're not going to do something stupid." Apollo sighed as he saw the looks on Athena and Aphrodite's faces. "I'll tell you now that you shouldn't piss off so many goddesses at once."

Ares scoffed, "I can handle it."

Aphrodite glared at him, "If you ruin their little family, you'll regret it."

Athena looked at Thea and Dite, "You're both awfully calm with this."

"Yes, but we won't spoil anything for you." Dite merely smiled at Ares, "You'll find out what happens soon enough."

Thea smirked, "I'll read next."