Chapter One
Apollo had never been more alone in his life.
After becoming a god again, he thought he would be safe. He was wrong. Zeus was angry with Apollo because, while he was human, he had done a number of things wrong: breaking his oath on the River Styx (to not play music or practice archery until he was a god again), destroying the cave of Trophonius, and "allowing" (as the king of the gods so unfairly put it) his demigod master, Meg McCaffrey, to die.
Never mind Apollo had no choice in breaking his oath and destroying the cave. Never mind Apollo had risked everything to save Meg, only for her to sacrifice herself to save everyone else. None of that mattered. Zeus apparently wanted Apollo to save all the oracles, defeat the triumvirate, and tie a pretty bow around it.
Apollo was a god, but he was not allowed to return to Olympus until the cave of Trophonius reformed - which could take centuries. Apollo tried to defend himself, tried to argue, but that only made Zeus angrier.
"The only reason you are a god once more is because your sister, Artemis, plead on your behalf. It would have been better if you had joined Meg McCaffrey in the underworld. Then, perhaps, you might have gained some wisdom." the sky god had thundered.
Apollo was crushed at those words,but there was nothing he could say, so he went to find his sister. Artemis shooed him away, wanting to be alone with her Hunters. It was then that Apollo realized his sister didn't care about him; she had only spoken up for him because once his punishment ended, she could be with her Hunters fled in humiliation and shame.
Now, here he was in a small studio apartment in Utah. Completely and utterly on his own.
Apollo woke up to the sounds of rain and thunder. He quickly got dressed, grabbed his umbrella, and headed out the door. He had no desire to eat anything. He just needed to get fresh air.
He walked through the city humming 'Baby Mine', and actively avoiding eye contact with people. He walked until he came to a crumbling red brick wall. Without realizing, he looked around to make sure no one was watching him; he stepped through the gap in the wall and proceeded to walk through a forest.
He eventually stopped in front of what looked to be a hill connecting to the mountain. But Apollo knew better. He rapped his knuckles on a stone as though he was knocking on a door. After a few seconds, it rolled out of the way to reveal curly red hair and bright brown eyes.
The young man's face lit up in a huge smile. "Apollo, my man!"
Apollo gave a small laugh. "Hey, Arthur."
"Dude, come in. Everyone's missed you." Arthur ushered him inside and closed the door behind them. "Yo, peeps, look who's here!"
They entered a cozy, well-lit living room. Three plush armchairs and a red couch were arranged in a u-shape with a dark brown coffee table in the center. A set of stairs behind the couch led up to the bungalows- the rooms where everyone lived. Off to the right, a short hallway led to the kitchen.
Three people appeared running down the stairs: a petite girl with a black bob-cut, a young man wearing huge goggles, and a tall muscular beast of a man with a stony expression.
The man with goggles burst into a huge smile and threw his arms around Apollo.
"Apollo! It's been so long! Where have you been?"
"Getting settled into my apartment."
"Good God, Melle, let him breathe," The girl scolded. She grinned at the sun god and led him over to one of the arm chairs. After she sat down, she asked, "How are you? Can I get you something to eat?"
"Oh, no thanks, Jordan," said Apollo. "I'm not in the mood to eat anything."
"Okay, I'll make you something." She hurried to the kitchen.
Arthur snorted. Turning to Jordan's boyfriend, he said, "Make sure she doesn't cook Thanksgiving dinner."
Derek grunted. He clapped Apollo on the shoulder then turned, heading to the kitchen.
Apollo sighed and leaned back in the armchair. "So, how are things with you guys?"
"Pretty normal," Melle said. Then he turned serious. "What about you? Did you tell Zeus about…"
"I tried to." Apollo's eyes started to water. "He didn't listen to me. He thought I wanted to complain about not being allowed on Olympus. He warned me not to talk to him about it again."
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Apollo, your dad is a fucking asswipe," Arthur said, outraged. "First, he deliberately did nothing when you were kidnapped by a sadistic rapist, now he's not gonna help you when that thing is still walking around out there!"
"I think Adam should talk to Zeus," Melle chimed in. "Adam would scold him and send him to bed without his dinner."
In spite of himself, Apollo snorted. "All the drama with the lightning bolt could have been avoided if Adam had been there. He would've made Zeus and Poseidon apologize to each other and say ten nice things about each other. Then he would've put them in the time-out corner."
The three of them sat in amused silence as they imagined Adam scolding two all-powerful gods like they were children.
Suddenly Apollo put his hand on his abdomen. "Mmmh."
"What?" Arthur sat forward, his face full of concern. "What's up? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. She just… She just giggled," Apollo said, quietly.
"Giggled," Arthur slowly repeated.
"Yeah, she giggles, like, twenty times a day."
"Is it kind of like kicking?" Melle asked. "You can feel it?"
"No, I, uh, hear it." Apollo explained. "It's kind of like a telepathic connection."
"How far along are you, again?" Jordan asked. She walked in holding a plate of miniature sandwiches and a jug of apple juice. "Also, how does this whole thing even work? You don't have a uterus."
Apollo shrugged. "I don't really know. She's there. She exists. But, she doesn't want to show that she's growing. As for how far along I am, I think it's been about a year. After all, I was still human when we figured out what was going on."
"I don't know too much about godly pregnancies," Jordan said, "but aren't babies supposed to take only nine months?"
"She'll be born when she's ready," Apollo said. "I just don't know when that will be."