ACKNOWLEDGEMENT/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Insanity is my second name who beta-ed the story and provided the plot. WE ALL LOVE YOU!
"Zeus, you are aware that it's father's day today, aren't you?" Aphrodite asked the lord of the sky sweetly.
"Umm…No…"
"Well, it is," she said flatly.
"Okay…"
"You dense idiot, don't you think you should visit your daughter to show your love for her!"
"I am NOT a dense idiot, Aphrodite! And why should I visit my daughter to 'show my love for her'?"
"Because she's your favorite demigod daughter. Heck, she's your only demigod daughter, and you love her very much."
Zeus frowned. "She is? I do?"
"Of course you do. You love her so much, don't you?"
Zeus frowned again. That Aphrodite was pretty damn hot-it was hard for any member of the male gender to concentrate on whatever she was saying when she looked at them with those large eyes. Those large eyes which looked like pools of beautiful spring water…
He kicked himself mentally. Hard.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?"
"Go and meet Thalia and tell her how much you love her," Aphrodite said in an extremely irritated voice.
"But she's with the Hunters of Artemis."
"She's visiting Camp Half-Blood. Just go, will you?"
"Umm…Why do I have to go again?"
Aphrodite sighed. Her charm was working, but not as much as she would have liked it to. She cranked it up a notch, complete with the batting eyelashes and coy smiles.
If Zeus looked dazed before, then he was knocked out right now. "Umm…so I have to meet Thalia at Camp Half-Blood?"
"Yes, because it will please me."
"Uh...okay…I guess." Saying this, he shuffled off, seeming to forget that he could just vanish in a flash if he wanted.
Ah well. Aphrodite had this effect on most men.
Hermes entered to see Aphrodite tapping away gleefully at her phone. He doubled back to see Zeus still looking considerably dazed-he was crashing into walls. He looked back at Aphrodite.
Hermes was smart. He knew Aphrodite's flirting cases when he saw them. "You do realize that he's your dad, don't you?"
"He is not. Who says?"
"Umm…Wikipedia."
"Oh. Oh right. Aw, who cares, Hera's his frickin sister, for crying out loud. And he's married to her."
"Like that's not disturbing enough without adding your seduction to the mix. What did you make him do, anyways?"
"I told him to go visit Thalia in account of father's day."
"Father's day isn't till another week."
"Who cares? I don't. And that's all that matters, right?"
"Sure, sure. What exactly are you trying to achieve? And who're you calling anyway?"
Aphrodite placed her cell phone to her ear. "Hello, Hera? Voicemail, ugh. Okay, I just thought you'd like to know…Zeus is giving Thalia a visit at Camp Half-Blood…Yes, Thalia. His demigod daughter. The one who was the result of his affair with another mortal woman…Yes, the very same woman with whom he bore two children…Thought you ought to know…Ok, then. Buh-bye."
She snapped her phone shut. "I'm sorry, Hermes, what were you saying?"
He looked amused. "I asked you what exactly you were trying to achieve."
"Oh, you know, Olympus Weekly is running low on the gossip factor…thought I'd help out. And of course, it would be fun to watch Hera strangle her brother/husband. And Ares's birthday is coming up, and you know how much he likes a good family fight, so…"
They both looked at each other. Hermes was the one who broke the silence.
"I'll let you watch the drama on my wide-screen TV if you bring the popcorn."
"Deal."
They both looked outside, where Zeus was still crashing into walls.
"Next time, use a little less charm."
"I'll remember that," she sighed.
At Camp Half-Blood, Zeus paused. He still wasn't sure exactly what he was doing here. Something about visiting Thalia? Father's day? All he could remember was Aphrodite's perfume.
Damn that lady, he thought angrily. He was going to have to do something about her. But best to send Athena to deal with her. If he went himself, he would probably just walk out with a confused memory and nothing but the color of her eyes left in his mind. He spun around, intending to go back to Olympus and give her a piece of his mind when…
"Dad!"
He groaned inwardly as he turned to see his daughter looking amazed to see him. He plastered a large smile on his face.
"Surprise, kiddo!"
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Thalia asked, looking amazed.
"What, you think I'd miss spending father's day with my only demigod daughter?"
"Father's day isn't for another week, dad."
"Oh. Um…practice makes perfect?" he asked with a grimace. There was no way he was admitting that he had been seduced by Aphrodite into coming...
"Wow!" Thalia said happily. "Come on, I'll show you around at Camp! Unless…" she hesitated. "Unless you need to go right now?"
Looking at the hopeful face of his daughter, Zeus couldn't help but smile. He had forgotten how much he loved seeing Thalia's smile.
"I'm yours for the day."
Thalia's face lit up. For probably the first time in her punk life, he had seen her look truly happy, and Zeus immediately thought, worth it.
But he was also a bit worried. When Hera found out…Oh, he was so dead.
Hera fumed. So he was off visiting his daughter, was he? Most likely doing it to make her jealous, too. What did he think he was going to achieve by playing hard to get? Well, she would give him something to think about...
She had a phone appear in her hand. Then she dialed a number.
"Hello, Hermes cabin?"
"Yeah, wassup?"
She groaned inwardly. Unfortunately, she couldn't turn them into cows-they were the best pranksters in the business. "Could I speak to the Stoll brothers?"
"Who's callin'?"
"Lady Hera. So make it snappy, if you don't mind."
"Oh, holy-! One sec, ma'am, just gettin' them." There was a sound as if the phone was being covered with a hand, but she could still make out what the boy at the other end was saying. "Yo! Travis! Conner! Leave that exploding snake alone and come here! That cow lady wants to talk to you both!"
Hera gritted her teeth.
"Lady Hera?" The person at the other end was either Travis or Conner-she couldn't tell the difference.
"Who the heck was on the phone before you?"
"Uhh…"
Somewhere in the background, there was a shout of, "Joe, you're in trouble!"
"Tell 'Joe' to hide under the bed. The cow lady's angry at him, and he should avoid meadows at all costs for sure."
"Yes ma'am. I'll tell him ma'am."
"Good. Now, Mr Stoll, you might be aware that my husband is over at your Camp. I'd like you to unleash your full prankster on him, if you don't mind."
Conner got a wicked glint in his eye when Hera said that. Travis looked stunned, but he wasn't going to look at a gift cow..er, horse, in the mouth. Connor clapped his hands gleefully as his brother said, "Of course ma'am. Right away ma'am."
"Good. Keep me updated on your progress."
She slammed the phone down.
Travis looked at his brother. "We need to make a list of all the things we're gonna need."
"On it, bro. S'not every day we get the green light to prank Zeus for all we're worth, eh?"
Aphrodite reached for a handful of popcorn as she looked at the television screen. "Wanna have a bet on how many pranks it takes till Zeus breaks down sobbing?"
"No bet." Hermes shook his head.
"Did I hear someone say 'bet'?" asked Dionysus as he stuck his head into Hermes's game room, "What're you doing?"
"I sent Zeus to Camp to meet Thalia. Hera's just employed the help of the Stoll brothers to get back at him."
Dionysus shook his head. "I don't even want to know what you did to him. Wanna bet on how many pranks it takes till Zeus cracks?"
"No bet." Hermes sighed.
"Ten drachmas it's going to take three."
"I think it'll take five," Dionysus said.
"When Hera finds out, she'll flay you both alive." Hermes warned them.
"Hmm, that's true," Aphrodite said thoughtfully. Then she got an evil glint in her eye. "That's why we need to make sure Hera doesn't find out. Or at least, forgets to deal with us since she's already…occupied elsewhere." She pulled out her phone once again. "Annabeth? Hi. I just thought you'd like to know…"
Anyways, like I mentioned above, the plot and storyline-and even the hilarious title!-has been provided by Insanity is my second name. She's awesomeness reincarnate :)