"I told her not to do it, Apollo! " Hermes's voice boomed, despite the fact that he had just angrily thrown a plate against the wall, and the shatter of the glass that should have been louder than a human's voice was muffled by Hermes's rage.
Apollo flinched, staring wide-eyed at his friend. He had never seen Hermes like this before. The god was always so collected, the cool head in every situation. Apollo had heard from Zeus that Hermes's anger was rarely seen, and in those rare time the fury could make even the elder gods retreat. He had never believed that his friend could become angry, which had been utterly foolish on his part. Usually extremely tolerant and pleasant, Hermes's rage was something not even the god of prophecy could foresee.
"It isn't your fault, Hermes," Apollo said gently. Though Hermes was frightening him at the moment, Apollo knew he was the only one who could calm the god. It had always been that way for them.
The forest behind the house burst into flames at this statement, and Hermes let out another scream of rage.
Apollo jumped in surprise again, but quickly put out the flames with a wave of his hand, and restored the forest before anyone else could notice. In the back of his mind, Hermes hoped no one had been going hiking or camping at that moment.
"Don't you understand, Apollo? It is all my fault. I could have forced May not to take the chance, told her very clearly that I would not stand for it," Hermes said in a strangled voice, beginning to pace. The house rumbled at this, and the previously sleeping baby in the next room awoke with a cry.
Apollo found it amazing that the poor thing hadn't woken before now, but Hermes simply walked quickly into the other room and came out holding the small child. He continued to pace, the baby settling in his father's arms. Hermes seemed to calm down at this, but Apollo was still a bit nervous for the god to be around the newborn. Not that he dared ask Hermes to put him down.
"She wouldn't have listened to you, Hermes. You know that. That's why you fell in love with her in the first place, don't you remember?" Apollo reasoned softly, and Hermes tossed him a look that scared the sun god more than anything he'd ever seen.
His eyes blazed with anger and murder, forcing Apollo to take an involuntary step back. He glanced at the baby in Hermes's arms, snuggled up against Hermes's chest. Hermes followed Apollo's gaze and stared down at his peaceful son, burying his face in the infant's golden hair. He inhaled briefly in an attempt to calm himself down, and the infant turned in his arms, looking at his father with the most striking of blue eyes.
"Daddy." The word was nearly unintelligible, and so quiet that if Hermes had not been holding the baby in his arms he wouldn't have heard it. The god stared at the child and the baby grinned at him, the familiar grin that Hermes wore more often than not.
Tears in his eyes, Hermes smiled back, though the smile was weak and filled with devastation. The god lifted his head, and Apollo was struck yet again by his best friend's appearance, though this time it was not because of his anger. Hermes's face seemed to have crumpled into an expression of complete and utter anguish and despair.
"Please tell me… There has to be some way… There has to be a way I could stop it from happening," Hermes said in a voice that Apollo had never heard him use before, and it sent a pang of strong sympathy and agony for his friend through his heart.
Slowly, Apollo shook his head. "No, there isn't," he said, his voice filled with regret. "I'm sorry, Hermes, but there is no way for myself - or you, for that matter - to help him. I can't mess with fate."
Hermes's face told Apollo he was expecting that answer. Of course, there was a slight chance that Luke might return, but Apollo didn't want Hermes to get his hopes high. He knew how Hermes would respond when his hope was torn away, and it would be worse than if he'd never had any in the first place.
Hermes looked down at his son again, the same blue irises meeting each other. The god's eyes filled with tears yet again as the baby wrapped his small hand around Hermes's finger.
"My Luke, my son, my pride. You are the most important thing to me now. I hope you always know that you mean everything to me, and begin to feel the depth of how much I love you," he said quietly, and the baby touched his face before falling back asleep.