Chapter Text
Supernova
Chapter One : Corona
(The outermost part of the Sun's atmosphere)
December 21, 2005
It was the wings that caught his attention.
Massive and black, with soft feathers and a slight silvery sheen that caught the light of Olympus just right. They pulled his attention away from the nymphs he was flirting with, and towards the owner. It was the end of the Winter Solstice, and many minor gods and goddesses were mingling around outside the Olympian Court, and Apollo was amusing himself by flirting with as many as he could as he watched Chiron lead a group of demigods through the glowing streets. He kept his eyes open for any of his children, and could pick out the three year-rounders (Lee, the counselor and musical genius, Michael, one of the very few that didn't inherit Apollo's colouring, and little Will, who was the most powerful healer he had seen in centuries, despite his young age) amongst the milling children, as well as the golden hair of one of his very few unclaimed children (Lila - he'd claim her tonight, she had progressed far in her archery).
Then the flash of glinting sunlight caught his eye, and Apollo glanced to his left.
He paused.
It was a minor god he had never seen before, stretching out his wings while conversing pleasantly with Hecate. The young god (and he was very young, holy shit, his ichor wasn't even a decade old) was small but lean, with thick curls of the darkest of blacks that reached his shoulders, and bronzed skin; physically in his late teens with strong shoulders despite his puny size. Apollo watched as he reached up with a delicate hand to brush a few errant curls behind his ear, the Sun God absently running through who this mysterious godling could be, and thinking back on it, it wasn't too hard to connect the dots.
This was Thanatos' son, and a former demigod who had ascended to godhood through heroic deeds. Apollo remembered faintly of Zeus mentioning it a few years back, it had stood out at the time, because very rarely were demigods offered immortality, especially if they weren't a child of Zeus, it was even rarer that they achieved godhood, and yet a son of Thanatos had managed it. Which, now that Apollo thought about it, was probably why the King hadn't dwelt on the subject and moved on as quickly as possible.
Apollo turned back to the nymphs, shooting them a charming grin, before politely excusing himself. He turned away as they giggled, and moved towards Thanatos' son. Hecate saw him coming, her green eyes flashing black, a mischievous grin spreading across her pretty face, and her companion followed her gaze.
Apollo's breath caught for the barest moment, before his winning smile grew wider. The other god's almond-shaped eyes were the loveliest shade of green Apollo had ever seen; so many differing hues of green swirling around his pupils, and flecked liberally with gold. In his pupils themselves, Apollo could see a faint shimmering symbol that he couldn't quite make out. The godling's face was aristocratic, with high cheekbones and faint freckles were sprayed across the bridge of his straight nose, his eyelashes were thick and dark. Black bangs fell across his forehead, and his full lips pulled into a small, slightly shy, smile. Apollo had seen a lot of beautiful beings in his long life, and he couldn't admit that this one was the greatest, but he was beautiful, and something about him kept Apollo's attention on him.
"Lord Apollo," Hecate greeted, amusement heavy in her tone, and Apollo dragged his eyes from the young god's face.
The Sun God pressed a kiss to the minor goddess' knuckles, "Hecate," He greeted smoothly, not at all ashamed that she had caught him checking out her companion. "You look enchanting, as always."
Hecate laughed lightly, "Little Apollo, ever the flirt."
Apollo grinned, "For you? Always." He and Hecate had had a few adventurous romps in the past, and stayed on pleasant terms, Apollo being one of the few Olympians the goddess of witchcraft could stand. He called her enchanting every time he could, always dragging a laugh out of the older goddess at his flirtatious pun. "And who might your lovely companion be?" The blonde god asked, eyes moving back to the captivating young man, who blushed, much to Apollo's satisfaction.
Hecate grinned, "Lord Apollo, might I introduce my grandson, Heroides, son of Thanatos."
Heroides dipped into a respectful bow, a little awkward, Apollo noted, he wasn't used to bowing, and when he straightened his eyes were burning. "It's nice to meet you."
Apollo gave the young god smile, before gently taking his hand and pressing a lingering kiss to his palm. Blue eyes met green, and Heroides' blush grew brighter. "Heroides," He purred, "'Heroic song', a beautiful name. I'm Apollo, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Heroides' wings twitched, and he offered Apollo a shy smile.
Longing curled in Apollo's gut, last and desire burning as bright as the sun chariot he drove. Gods were possessive being by nature, they wanted things and they got what they wanted in turn, and Apollo wasn't any different. He was as stubborn as his father when it came to beautiful beings, and possessive of the love they showed him. He had had many lovers, many flings, and many children, and he loved them all deeply, as they were his.
He opened his mouth the speak once more to the beautiful god, to woo him and to learn more about him, perhaps even to spout off poety, waxing about Heroides' beautiful eyes, but thunder rumbled overhead, and Apollo's stomach dropped. The sky had darkened, clouds were gathering overhead, Zeus was furious and many fled when lightning flashed, hoping not to be a victim of the ire of the King of Olympus. Heroides' wide eyes turned from Apollo and towards the sky, confusion swimming in their depths.
Apollo winced, "It seems that's my signal." He murmured, eyes flicking upwards as rain began to fall, "Hecate, Heroides, it was lovely to see you, but it looks like my father is angry. Another time?"
Hecate dipped her head, and Heroides smiled slightly.
"Another time." The dark-haired son of Thanatos agreed, and Apollo smiled.
Another time.
000000
June 21, 2006
The next time Apollo saw him, it was summer. He stood beside Artemis, lingering outside of the Council temple as their father and Poseidon met with young Percy Jackson about the missing Masterbolt, when the familiar flash of light reflecting off of his shimmering wings caught Apollo's attention as he moved towards the temple.
Blue eyes met golden-flecked green.
His sentence trailed off, probably startling his sister, and he beamed waving the young god over. Heroides blinked, hurrying towards the twin archers.
"Heroides!" Apollo greeted with a light laugh. "How have you been?"
Heroides looked bemused, and Artemis glanced between the two. "Busy, Lord Apollo. Lord Hades has been furious over the loss of his Helm."
Apollo frowned slightly, "Uncle Hades lost his Helm?"
The younger god nodded, "It was stolen on the Winter Solstice, much like the Masterbolt was. Lord Hades' anger affected all of us in the Underworld, it's been very tense." He laughed slightly, "Spot nearly ripped my wing off when I got too close."
"Spot?"
"Cerberus." Heroides clarified, and Apollo winced.
"Who are you?" Artemis cut in, frowning, and Apollo rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"This is Heroides, the son of Thanatos." Apollo offered, "Heroides, this is my sister, Artemis."
Heroides dipped his head politely, "Lady Artemis, a pleasure to meet you."
Artemis' silver eyes studied the young winged god, and Apollo silently hoped she wouldn't find a fault with him and smite the pretty young god for it. "You're the demigod that ascended in 1998." She said instead, and Heroides shrugged.
"That's me." Then his brows furrowed, a thoughtful frown tugging at his lips. "Or maybe it would be more accurate to say 'demihuman'." Heroides rambled, and Artemis arched a brow.
"Oh?"
Apollo was confused as well, perking up at the chance to learn more about the mysterious young godling.
Heroides ran a nervous hand through his hair, exposing the faint lightning bolt scar on his forehead, before letting his bangs flutter across the bronzed skin once more. "My mother was a demigoddess. A daughter of Hecate."
Artemis' sharp eyes narrowed in on the scar.
"Hecate introduced you as her grandson." Apollo noted, and Heroides nodded.
"I was also blood adopted by my mother's husband, who was a legacy of Zeus, through his own mother." Heroides said quietly, "My mother and stepfather prayed to the gods to help them have a child, he was sterile, an accident when he was young, and my father answered. So I really had more godly blood than I did human."
"Must've been a shock when you found out." Apollo grinned, and Heroides chuckled.
"It was."
Their eyes met once more, and the desire was back, thick and heavy in his chest, as he stared into the humorous green eyes. Heroides blushed slightly, pushing a strand of dark hair away from his face, but he didn't look away from Apollo's gaze.
Or at least he didn't until Artemis spoke once more, effectively ruining the moment.
"What are you doing here? You're a servant of the Underworld, are you not."
Apollo shot his sister a small glare for the interruption, and she just gave him a Look in return.
Heroides' wings fluttered, his flush darkening. "Lord Hades sent me to extend his thanks to the demigod who returned his Helm." He nodded towards the closed doors that lead to the Council room.
Which, ironically enough, had just opened.
Poseidon exited first, followed by a miniature Sea God, who must've been his son, who's eyes landed on Heroides and widened in surprise.
"You!"
"Me." Heroides straightened, smiling slightly. "Percy Jackson, we owe you our thanks."
Jackson blushed at the attention. "It was nothing, I just wanted to stop a war."
Heroides' smile widened, "A noble cause. You returned Lord Hades' Helm to him, and for that he thanks you. You have my thanks as well."
"I should be the one thanking you!" Jackson ducked his head. "Because of you, Hades didn't just blast me off the face of the Earth the moment I walked into the room. You got him to at least listen to us."
Heroides laughed, ruffling the kid's hair, dipping his head respectfully towards Poseidon. "You remind me of myself when I was your age. I wasn't about to let you get smote without at least allowing you to state your case."
Jackson looked a little amused as he tried flattening his hair again. "You probably wouldn't have been able to stop him."
"Not at all." Heroides agreed, "But if it came down to it I would have stepped in the way, I'm immortal. The smoting would've hurt, but it wouldn't have killed me."
Jackson flushed, fiddling with his torn shirt. "You don't have to."
The winged god's eyes softened, shoving his hands into his black jeans. "You wanted your mother back. I would've done anything for that opportunity..."
Apollo saw the sadness in the young god's expression, the longing, and wanted nothing more but to bring back his happiness, the laugh, but Heroides shook himself out of it, pulling a grin back onto his face.
"Look after your mom, kid." Heroides said, putting a gentle hand on the young demigod's shoulder. "She was willing to die for you, and you were willing to challenge the Lord of the Underworld to get her back. That's a love that will never fade."
There was a moment of silence, before Heroides stepped away. "I should get going, Lord Hades must be wondering if I cheeked someone and got smote for it. Message delivered." Heroides bowed to Poseidon, then to the twins. "Lord Poseidon. Lady Artemis, Lord Apollo. It was a pleasure."
Both Poseidon and Artemis inclined their heads, and then those bright green eyes shifted to Apollo.
"Another time?" Apollo asked, grinning slightly.
Heroides laughed, "Another time."