Chapter Text
When Apollo finished telling Percy everything. About his twins, a girl and a boy, who hummed with divine power. He told Percy about his plans to bring their mother and them to Delos to raise. He told Percy how he found their mother dead in her apartment three weeks ago. Slaughtered by a monster. The twins were missing, most likely dead. He told Percy how unempathetic the others were about his grief, how they treated it like a phase not a wound. When he had finished telling the entire story Percy took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry that happened,” Percy said quietly.
Apollo squeezed his shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Um,” Percy fidgeted with his hands. “I don’t know how to ease you into this so I’ll just say it.”
Apollo arched an eyebrow and looked down at Percy who kept his gaze on his hand.
“I found those twins a little over a week ago and brought them to Grover’s Grove. I would’ve brought them to camp but the satryrs…” Percy’s voice broke off as Apollo flashed them to The Grove.
It was a real life garden of eden. The new domain of The Wild designed by Grover Underwood. The Grove was breathtaking and teeming with exotic and ordinary plants, animals and fauna of the wild. The gentle chatter of the Grove quiets in the presence of the god who up until a few hours ago who scouring the earth. Percy looked up at Apollo hesitantly.
“Where are they,” he asked. His voice was tight with emotion. He must’ve been through hell these last few weeks. Still those twins had been through more and Apollo was… well a fucking mess. Percy wasn’t letting him near them like this.
Just wait there. Tell him I’ll bring them, Grover spoke in his mind.
Through their shared link he could see the twins playing happily with a nymph as Grover approached. Percy nodded and pointed at a marble lounge that sat on the edge of the lake, tall columns hidden in the greenery.
“Grover said we can wait there. He’ll bring them,” Percy promised. Next thing he knew he was looking at the spot he was just standing from the other side of the lake.
Apollo was so tense he felt like stone even as he slipped his arm off of Percy’s shoulder and started to pace the marble floor. Percy walked over to the sprawled out cushions and sheets in the seating area and busied himself with setting it up. A goblet of chilled ambrosia appeared next to his hand. He looked back at Apollo who was still pacing. From Grover then , he thought.
He walked the glass back over to Apollo and offered it to him. Apollo stared at the glass for a beat before taking it.
“Thank you,” he said with a small smile. Nerves lined his voice.
“Sure thing,” Percy didn’t know if he should offer him a hug or something. “Uh, do you want more time before they get here?”
“Huh? Why would I?” Apollo asked incredulously.
“I don’t know. I was just offering,” Percy shrugged. “You’re also kinda freaking the animals out.”
Apollo smiled a little more genuinely at that. “Perhaps a few more minutes to gather myself then.”
“Are you nervous?” Percy asked, walking him to the seating area.
“Anxious,” Apollo took a sip from his goblet. “There are no words. I must see them for myself.”
“You don’t have to wait if you don’t want to,” Percy reminded him.
Apollo lounged down onto the cushions, finding a picturesque position of relaxation with ease, his face still tight. Percy sat opposite him, pulling his knees in with his arms.
“I know. But it probably isn’t best they see me like this,” Apollo sighed, looking over at Percy. “Where did you find them? I was looking for days before my… well outburst. I couldn’t sense them anywhere.”
“It was on a boat,” Percy shrugged. “I was heading back home when I passed it and got a weird feeling. So I hopped on and realized pretty quickly it was full of monsters. They were talking about having demigods for dinner so I figured I should check and make sure there wasn’t anybody on board…”
“Were they the only ones there?” Apollo asked.
Percy grimace. “They were the only ones alive. The monsters kept the… remains in the same cage as them. It was… really sick.”
Apollo feels a solar flare go off somewhere at the thought of how quickly his children came to such a grizzly death. He can’t imagine the things they saw, and at only 3 years old. They might be better off with a drop of Lethe cleansing their mind of the entire ordeal. Apollo looks over at Percy whose brow is furrowed tightly. He holds his knees tight against his chest and glares at the floor. There would be no forgetting that scene from Percy’s mind. He saved his children’s lives and Apollo almost killed him because they were both in a bad mood over the same thing.
“Thank you,”Apollo said.
Percy glanced up from his brooding.
“I just realized I haven’t said thank you yet,” Apollo swallowed. “For saving them and keeping them safe.”
Percy smiled. “It was no biggie.”
Apollo scoffed with a smile. “For a demigod of your caliber surely not. But as a father… thank you Perseus.”
“Lord Apollo?” Grover’s gentle voice rose from the steps leading to the lake.
Grover didn’t make it halfway across the lounge before Apollo had already flashed in front of him, taking in the quiet children sitting in each arm. To Percy’s surprise the children recognized their father and reached for him with excited shouts. Apollo laughed with joy brightening up the entire Grove in a warm gentle glow. He held them tightly and kissed the crowns of their head blubbering thanks to Grover in between words of affection to the children. The sight was sweet enough to make you cry. In fact a few of the nymphs did cry.
The look Apollo gave him was so full of gratitude it made him want to call his mom and apologize for every time he ever went missing or didn’t call back. This was the part of demigod rescuing that really made it all worth it. Those rare chances he could put a child back in their parents arms. He watched Apollo beam at his little family and that familiar ache twisted his stomach. As much as he wanted this for himself he knew intimately how slim the chances were for happy endings. But as long as he could help other families find theirs he could accept his own fate.