So I promised some Fighting Fate one-shots, and here's one of them! My friend asked for a chance for Tiberius and Apollo to meet, and I couldn't resist! It's a good set up for the sequel. :)
This one-shot takes place shortly before the epilogue. I explain things a little more, and it's full of Apollide (apollo/addie) XD
I hope you enjoy!
Apollo POV
I was exhausted. You would think being a god isn't exhausting, but truthfully, it is.
Getting the Muses in order is way harder than it seems. When they get on a roll, they can be an absolute nightmare. They were going on and on about this band that needed a blessing or something like that. I finally just gave it to them so they would shut up. Then my father called me into his office to rant for hours about my stepmother, and after the day I had, I wasn't in the mood to listen to it.
The sun had just set. It was one of those days where I wanted to forget about everything. I walked into my home, content with making me a nectar cocktail and indulging in the one thing I knew would improve my mood.
Addie was sitting at a table, a pile of books stacked around her. She had her hair in a messy braid, a set of black framed glasses perched on her nose. She was scribbling something furiously on a scroll, going back and forth from the book tiredly. She hadn't been getting a lot of sleep lately, and in truth, I was worried.
Every single day I woke up thinking this could be her last day as… well, whatever she was. She blew it off, but I hated to see her in any kind of pain. She seemed tired all the time, more so than she use to, and it took her longer to recover from missions and jobs. The last one she went on, she slept for over twenty-four hours afterwards. She woke up screaming sometimes, almost every other night now, but she could never remember what the dreams were about. She said she was fine, but I wondered how much she was hiding.
If I had it my way, she would have been an immortal already. I didn't want her to take this potion of Hecate's. It was risky, what she wanted to do, tempting fate like she was. Then again, she wouldn't be Addie if she didn't. I didn't understand! I knew I wasn't the only one pushing her to go ahead and make the change.
I walked around behind her, and she never looked up. I knew better than to think she didn't know I was here. Addie noticed everything, even if she didn't acknowledge it. I placed my hand on her shoulder, and she laid her own on top of it. After finishing a sentence, Addie leaned back, smiling that timid smile I had come to know so well. She watched me for just a second, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Someone's had a long day," she muttered to me. I shrugged my shoulders and bent over to see what she was working on.
"Is that…the Underworld?"
Addie nodded her head, looking thoughtfully at the plans. "Yeah, Athena drew them up for Hades. I'm getting a list of supplies he'll need. He wants to expand again, and that's going to take a serious amount of magic. I've got to take these to him."
"Can't Iris do it? Or Hermes?"
"They could, but Hades wanted them personally delivered and that's on me, unfortunately," she sighed. She began to roll them up, sticking them in a bag hanging off of her chair.
"You don't have to do that, you could give it to someone else," I reminded her. She raised her eyebrows and smiled, giving me a quick peck on the cheek.
"I'm still a lowly servant, not a member of the council, so I can't exactly delegate. And I don't mind. I just," she paused, yawning loudly, "wish it could wait until morning."
I grabbed her arm, turning her around to face me. "You have to go tonight?"
"Yes, I'll be back in a little bit-
"No. Absolutely not."
Addie raised her eyebrows, giving me a challenging look. Something in my gut told me it wasn't a good idea. She looked unwell, and she didn't need to be out alone.
"Apollo, I have to go," she said calmly. I heard that tone though, the one she would carefully veil when she was trying to stay calm.
"No, I can get one of my people to take it, and you can stay right here."
"Apollo-
"You don't need to be out this late, not with everything going on with you-"
"Excuse me!?"
"I'm serious, Addie."
"I'm serious, too! I can handle this," she promised me.
"No," I replied firmly. Did she really not care about her life? "You will not go, and that's final."
Addie's face was tense, and she narrowed her eyes at me dangerously. I knew I had overstepped, but I couldn't let her go. She picked up her bag and slung it across her shoulder. Addie started out the front, but I vanished and appeared in front of her. I made her bag appear in my hands, and she looked at me with a shocked expression. Addie put her hand on her hips, leering at me like she could rip my head off. Two could play at this game. She was so damned stubborn.
"Give me the bag back. Now."
"No," I said smugly as I made it vanish. Addie closed her eyes, and I swore I could see her count to ten. Lightning flashed above us, the thunder rolling as the clouds above us started to build.
"Will you please give me my bag back and let me do my job?! I'm not a child. I know how to take care of myself."
"Obviously not, or you wouldn't be going alone to the underworld in the middle of the night!" I fumed. A part of me knew I was over-reacting, but it was so tiny, I really didn't care. "Why can't you listen to a thing I say?"
"I listen to plenty of things you say, when you are not being an asshat!" she snapped. "You don't trust me to know my limits!"
"How can I trust you when you are being reckless and irresponsible with your life?"
"So that's what this is about! Me not taking immortality? I'm irresponsible? What about that time your father and Asc-
"Oh good gods, you had to bring that up, didn't you? You're the one who's throwing your life away! If you would just become immortal, then we wouldn't have to have this conversation! What's keeping you from it? Do you even want to stay with me?"
A crack appeared in the marble floor, and I looked up at Addie in disbelief. She just gave me a look like I deserved it.
"You better fix my floor!"
"Oh, why don't you get one of your people to do it!" she scoffed.
"Maybe I will!"
"Great! Fanfreakingtastic! Maybe while they are fixing this crack, they can pull the stick out of yours!"
My jaw dropped. "I AM A GOD! You can't talk to me like that!"
"THE GOD OF CHILDISH BEHAVIOR!"
We were face to face, barely a foot of space between us. I knew she was angry; Hades, I was too. There was a storm raging above us, the wind whipping through the columns of my home. That storm was nothing compared to the tension between us. She infuriated me, but a part of me admired her for it.
"Euadne, you are not going tonight, and that is an order," I ground out. I watched as her face fell, her mouth dropping open. Lightning hit the top of Olympus, sending a shudder through it.
"You… you can't…an order! An order!? You can't tell me what to do!" she finally managed to yell.
"I'm not telling you what to do; I'm trying to protect you," I protested.
"You can't keep me locked up in a cage, Apollo! I'm not ready yet!"
"ADDIE-"
"Don't you dare-"
"Addie, listen to me," I pleaded. She just didn't understand. Didn't she realize how important she was, how imperative it was to keep her safe? She looked at me and her eyes were brimming with tears, but she didn't let any fall.
"How could you say that? Do you even realize...how…ugh!" She threw her hands up, her frustration getting the best of her. She turned away, the storm now pouring rain all around us. I ran in front of her, placing my hands on her shoulders.
"Apollo, stop," she snapped. She shrugged out from underneath them, but I grabbed her again.
"I'm not going to lose you again!" I burst out. Her face fell from its angry expression to something a lot less hostile. She looked at me for a moment, a little stunned.
"Apollo… I'm not going anywhere," she reminded me. I avoided her gaze and ran my hand along the back of my neck. Did she not realize how much paler she looked, how the shadows under her eyes darkened when she stressed herself? "Look, how about a compromise? Would you be willing to come with me? I can ask someone else if you don't want to come."
There was a trace of pain in her voice, something that made me realize that maybe I handled this wrongly. No matter what, she wasn't going to leave my sight tonight. She could hate me if she wanted to. I nodded my head, making the bag reappear in my hands.
"Let's go."
We appeared right outside of Hades's palace. We hadn't said a single word to each other since we left, and the tension was so thick between us you could cut it with a knife. After the guards let us pass, I could hear yelling coming from Hades's throne room. He was giving someone hell.
"I'll be right back," Addie quipped. She walked through the doors, and the yelling stopped. I started pacing in front of his doorway, anxious to have her out of there. My Uncle wasn't known for being able to keep his temper well, and if he tried anything with Addie….I didn't feel like starting a war with him, but I would if I had to.
I sat on a bench, watching his guards at the entrance. They gave me a wide berth, which was expected. It at least gave me time to think.
I didn't like fighting with Addie, but since we found out that the ichor was killing her, it seemed to be all we did. I punched the bench in frustration, leaving a sizeable hole in the marble. I needed to fix it, but at that moment, I just didn't care.
"My Lord?"
I looked up, and one of Hades's underlings, Roman by the look of him, was looking at me in concern. He had shaggy blonde hair, and eyes the blue-grey of the sky just as the sun began to rise. His expression was worried.
"You seem rather tense, is there anything I can get you? Anything I can do to assist you?"
I shook my head and sighed deeply. "Unless you can explain what is going on in that girl's head, then no, not really."
The boy tilted his head, looking thoughtfully at the door Addie had gone through. He shuffled some of the papers in his arms, a knowing smile on his face.
"Something funny?" I mused. He blanched slightly, but he remained calm.
"Not at all, my Lord. I just think it's curious that even the gods have arguments with their partners, just as us lowly mortals do."
"You were married once? You look awfully young," I wondered. He only looked about eighteen.
"A very long time ago. It was arranged, but she was my best friend and the love of my life," he said softly.
"And how long were you married?"
"Just under a year, before I died. I was grateful for the time I had with her."
I nodded my head. I felt for the boy. I felt that hole now, if Addie was ever ripped from me.
"What happened to her?" I asked.
"She found another after I died, but it took a long time. I'm happy that she's happy, that she found love again," he stated. "I guess he's good for her. He can protect her, and he's strong enough to keep her in check. But I worry for her. I just hope he continues to treat her the way she should be treated, because he can be a selfish prick."
I thought it was a little weird, how he worded his thoughts, like she was still alive or something. He had obviously been dead for a long while. I tried to imagine having to move on from Addie, but I couldn't. Even the thought was impossible. The boy cleared his throat, and I looked up to find him staring at me with a hard expression. I almost felt like he was my elder, and he was scolding me.
"I don't mean to overstep, but I know Euadne. I've heard the rumors, and I know you fear for her safety, as I hope you would. You want to know why she won't become a full immortal yet? You are taking what little freedom she has gained since removal of the curse. She's been backed into another corner, and she hates feeling trapped. You're a god, and I know for a fact you are never backed into a corner. You don't know how it feels. Just don't do it to her."
Part of me wanted to blast his soul to smithereens. Mortals got so ballsy when they were dead. He was brave, I'd give him that. He didn't move for flinch from the glare I was giving him.
"Just because you work for my Uncle doesn't mean I would hesitate to blast you into oblivion," I hissed. The boy sighed deeply, rolling his eyes just a little.
"I meant no offense, my Lord. You better treat her right, that's all I'm saying."
I stood up, and now, we were merely feet from each other. I would never treat Addie badly. This mortal seemed to have another death wish. I knew Addie had many friends, but none of them would be stupid enough to challenge a god like this. I narrowed my eyes, but he calmly and determinedly looked straight into my own.
"Bear?"
My head snapped to her as soon as I heard her voice. Addie had just walked through the door, and she was staring at us with the most peculiar expression. Her cheeks were stained red with a blush, and she was playing with her bracelet, a nervous habit she had gained over the years. The boy's eyes were locked on her, a look of concern and worry on them. They stared at each other for a moment, and I felt like I was the one intruding. That's when it clicked.
"Bear….You're Tiberius Maximus," I breathed. This was Addie's former husband. I moved closer to her, the jealously absolutely eating me alive. I didn't know if her blush was from him or the situation. She had told me all about him, and I knew a part of her would always love him. She said it was a different part of her life, that she was a different person than she was then. I put my arm around Addie's shoulders. Her hand reached up to rest on my own, and she curled just slightly into me. It made me smile, her showing this tiny amount of affection to me.
"The one and only," he said with a slight smirk in my direction. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Apollo."
"I thought that you were trying for rebirth?" Addie pressed. Tiberius shrugged his shoulders, looking calmly back at her.
"I came to Hades, but he made me an offer to work on the expansion in the underworld, said I would have better perks once I rebirthed." Hades yelled in his room, and Tiberius groaned. "I've got some work to do. Hades is such a night owl."
He took a step towards Addie, reaching for her hand. I tensed, but she looked up at me and squeezed mine gently. She moved away from me, giving Tiberius a brief hug. I just fisted my hands in an attempt not to blast him for Addie's sake.
"Take care of yourself, Addie. I only want to see you down here for work," he teased. He let go of her, giving the back of her hand a quick peck. He dropped her hand and turned towards me. Addie moved back to my side, and I instantly wrapped her into me. Tiberius smiled at us, and he held out his hand to me. "Take care of my girl, okay?"
I reached for his hand, giving it a brief shake.
"You know I will."
We stared each other down, neither of us ending the handshake. Addie looked between us anxiously. Hades was yelling for Tiberius, but neither of us budged. He was actually gripping my hand kind of hard for a ghost.
"Okay! I need to get some sleep, and I'm sure you have a lot of work to do now that I dropped those plans off," she supplied as she attempted to pull me away towards the front doors. "And Hades is in an awful mood. It was good to see you, Bear."
"I'm coming!" he yelled to Hades and began to walk backwards. "You too. Both of you."
Tiberius gave me a curt nod and Addie a playful wink before disappearing into Hades's throne room.
We came back to my place, the air less tense than it was before. She set the now empty bag on the table, and I grabbed and pulled her into my arms.
"I love you," I whispered as I rested my forehead against hers. She closed her eyes, sighing slightly.
"I love you too," she assured me. I placed my lips briefly against hers, running my hands along her arms. Her skin was so soft, and the way she smelled was divine. It turned into more, her hands running up my back underneath my shirt. I gripped into her, holding her tightly against me. I wanted to take her away, to show her I wasn't mad at her anymore. I ran my lips along her neck, and she sighed in pleasure.
"Apollo?"
"Hmm?" I kept at her neck, teasing the spot I knew would get her thinking about things other that the fight.
"Are you trying to charm me?"
"Maybe. Is it working?" I purred. My lips were back on hers, my hands in her hair. Everything about her was intoxicating. I was so easily distracted by this woman. She pulled away, looking up at me from underneath her lashes in that sexy way that always made my stomach flip. Her lips were at my ear, and she placed a soft kiss below it and brushed my ear as she came up. I could feel her breath, and it was absolutely delightful.
"No, I'm still mad at you," she murmured silkily into my ear. Addie pulled away and walked out to the balcony.
I stood there, my mouth wide open. She was such a damned tease! I was over our argument, but apparently she wasn't. She sure didn't act like she was still mad when she was hugged all over me in the underworld! She sure as Hades didn't act like she was mad when she was kissing me! I was completely frazzled by her, in more ways than one.
I followed her out onto the balcony. She had her back to me, staring blankly out in to the dying storm. Her arms were crossed, and she glanced back at me before turning back around. I walked over to her, keeping a good four feet of space in between us. I glanced over, but she was determined to not look at me.
"Are you really still mad at me?"
"Yep," she affirmed. She looked at me at the corner of her eyes, and I tried my best not to smile. We were both incredibly stubborn, and she was kind of cute when she stood up for herself. "I think you owe me an apology."
I raised my eyebrows. She wasn't exactly stepping up for her wrongs either. I know she wouldn't have said anything if I hadn't been so... whatever, but she wasn't right either.
"You're right," I agreed sarcastically. "I'm sorry you are so stubborn."
Her face remained blank, but her eyes narrowed and thunder rumbled loudly from the storm. Lightning shot from the sky, hitting a building nearby.
I didn't want to fight anymore, and I knew we were dangerously close. I just wanted to go to bed and forget everything. I moved behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. She didn't move as I placed my chin on her shoulder; in fact, she stayed perfectly stiff.
"I really am sorry," I confessed.
"Are you sorry because you mean it, or because you want to go to bed and finish where we left off?" she reasoned.
"Both?"
She laughed humorlessly, and she pulled out of my arms. Addie walked back inside, and I groaned in frustration. Apparently, this wasn't something I could blow off with a half-assed apology and some kisses. Maybe Tiberius was right. Maybe it went deeper than I realized.
I ran my hand through my hair. I didn't understand. No one could ever stop me from doing something I wanted to do, not even my father. I didn't know what losing that felt like, but I tried to imagine it. It would infuriate me. I could see Tiberius's point. Addie was just like her father in that way; she hated to be restrained.
"Addie," I called pleadingly after her. I followed her inside. She was stacking up her books and notes. I saw her wipe something off her face. Addie crying was not something I was use to, and I didn't like it. I grabbed her hands, and she looked up at me.
"You are stubborn," I began. She gave me a look, but I placed my finger on her lips. "You push yourself too hard, and I am worried sick about you. I don't like fighting with you, but I don't understand why you won't just become immortal, why you want to put it off. Is this something…do you not want to be immortal?" I could hear it in my voice. So many mortals had denied immortality, even some of my past loves. Addie had been around for so long…I didn't think it was an issue. Maybe that was partly what was bothering me. Now that she had a choice, would she want to leave? Her eyes grew wide, and she shook her head at me.
"No," she assured me. "I don't want to spend my existence drifting. My soul is immortal, I can't change that, but even if I could, I'd choose you."
"Then why? You've got to help me out here," I weakly chuckled.
"I never got my chance! I finally got my freedom back, after all these years, and it's been snatched from me again. I don't get to do what I love; you all baby me now. I get useless errands, and you won't even let me do that. It's driving me insane! If I become immortal, fully immortal, everything will change. I can't make a difference like I can now. There will be no more family dinners, no more interfering. I won't be able to work at Camp, to live normal. And I don't mind losing that if it means I get to have you. But if I even get a few days of continuing to be able to do that with this potion, to have my immortal family and my mortal one, I want the chance. Wouldn't you want it, a chance to be around your kids and stuff, if you could have it?"
"Of course I would," I admitted after a minute. We all hated the ancient code we were bound to. It caused so much resentment between us. I looked into her eyes, which were looking pleadingly back at my own. "I get it. Take the potion." Addie's face lit up, and she wrapped her arms around me. I pulled her close, leaning my head on top of her own. "But I have a couple of conditions."
She pulled away, nodding her head earnestly.
"I want someone to stay with you, a demigod or immortal, either one, but just someone to keep an eye on you. You are a weakness to Olympus. Ichor is powerful stuff, and if it gets into the wrong hands….You can go on your missions and things, but take Thalia or Urban with you. Just have someone to get your back."
"I can live with that, and I know the perfect solution," she added with a smile.
"The other condition: the minute you start showing symptoms again, you don't wait. Don't try to be strong, don't push through it. You have to take care of yourself. Every day for the past month I have seen you get worse and worse," I explained. She looked away from me, but I grabbed her chin, making her look at me again. "I know you are in pain, I can feel it. I can't lose you, Addie, I won't. So promise me, swear it on the Styx."
"I promise the minute I feel it, I will seek help. I'll take care of myself. I swear it on the Styx, on us," she vowed.
I pulled her into my arms, and she tilted up her head to kiss me. Something about her made me weak. I was floating, and she was the thing that kept me in place. I felt more alive with ever than I had in my whole existence. She was all of the good in the world. I picked her up and set her on the table so we were even with each other. She laughed weakly, our noses brushing each other.
"I'm sorry, I truly am. It just drives me a little crazy, the very thought of losing you," I explained. She planted her lips gently against mine and pulled away, her hands on either side of my face. "Don't I get an apology?"
"I'm sorry you are stubborn, pompous ass."
"But I'm your stubborn, pompous ass," I countered. She grinned mischievously at me, while she brushed my hair out of my eyes.
"You know, you are adorable when you're jealous," Addie remarked.
"Are you talking about Tiberius?"
She nodded her head, and I rolled my eyes. "I'm not jealous."
"So you just decided to get all affectionate and such because…?"
"Because you are a beautiful, smart, and talented women, and I want the whole world, including your former husband, to know that you are mine, and there is nothing that can change that," I said as I planted a kiss against her forehead. "Now, if you want to take that potion tomorrow, you need to sleep. That's part of taking care of yourself."
I picked her up in my arms, and she squealed loudly. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I felt her lips at my ear.
"Now that's how you charm a girl."
Boom. Leave a review to let me know what you think!
