"I know you feel the same way

'Cause you told me drunk on your birthday

As you pulled me near, whispered in my ear

'Don't ever let it end'."

-Nickelback

Chapter 14: A Party

When Dionysus finally took his place as a god on Mount Olympus, he decided to celebrate with a party. The several years he had spent in India had made him acquire a taste for wine; consequently, there was an excessive amount of drinking at the celebration.

Hermes had never been a heavy drinker, but his younger brother forced goblet after goblet of wine on him. "It won't hurt you," Dionysus reassured him with a wide smile. So Hermes obeyed, drinking everything that Dionysus pushed his way. It wasn't until much later that he started to feel – different. His vision became distorted and his stomach felt as though it was doing somersaults. But somehow, he didn't care.

About halfway into the party, he found himself hanging from Dionysus's arm, giggling madly. "Isn't this fun?" Dionysus asked in a voice that seemed unusually loud. Hermes nodded, and reached out to grab an olive from a nearby tray but ended up stumbling into Ares. Dionysus reached out in an attempt to steady him but lost his own balance in the process, and the two fell to the floor in a heap, chortling noisily.

"Hermes?" an incredulous voice asked. Hermes looked up to see a certain blonde god hovering above him with raised eyebrows.

"Apollo!" Hermes cried out, reaching for his friend. Apollo stepped back as though Hermes had a contagious disease. "What do you think you're doing?" the archer hissed.

"He's having fun, for once in his life," Dionysus hiccupped.

"How fun is it going to be tomorrow morning when he's throwing his stomach up?" Dionysus opened his mouth to reply, but Apollo didn't give him a chance to speak. "I knew you would be a bad influence on him the moment I first saw you," the blonde declared, reaching down and grabbing Hermes around the waist. He swung the messenger over his shoulder, ignoring the feeble protests. "I'm taking him to bed."

"I'm sure he would enjoy that," Dionysus called after him. "He's obsessed with you, you know."

"It's true," Hermes giggled in his ear, twisting his body so that he could pat Apollo on the face. "You're so pretty."

Apollo gritted his teeth and kept walking until he reached Hermes' room. He pushed the curtain aside and laid Hermes down atop the bed. When he turned to leave, Hermes said, "You aren't going to stay with me?"

The words and the tone in which Hermes said them made Apollo shiver with desire. Here was the object of his affections, looking at him with sweet green eyes, offering himself to the archer. Apollo took a deep breath to clear his head and quietly said, "You're drunk. I'm not going to take advantage of you."

"You don't understand!" Hermes protested, sitting up. "I think about this every day—how much I want you—want to touch you—" His voice trailed off and he looked at Apollo with a pleading expression. When the older god said nothing, Hermes asked in a quivering voice, "Don't you feel the same way?"

Apollo exhaled loudly, looking up at the ceiling as though he was asking his father for advice. "Of course I feel the same way," he finally said, running a hand through his hair and pinching the bridge of his nose. "But we'll talk about this tomorrow when you're in a better state of mind."

"We don't have to talk," Hermes purred, quickly regaining his posture. He shook his dark hair out of his face and shrugged off his outer cloak, revealing slender but muscular arms. As Apollo watched, he stood up and attempted to move towards the archer – but tripped over a stool and went crashing towards the ground. "Ow," he groaned.

"Would you please go to bed?" Apollo asked in exasperation, helping the dazed messenger up and pushing him back towards the bed.

"Only if you come with me," Hermes mumbled, latching on to Apollo's arm and pulling him onto the bed. So Apollo laid down with a sigh, and Hermes curled into his side.

Hermes started groaning as soon as he opened his eyes. He couldn't remember ever feeling so sick. He groped around for the cup of water he always kept at his bedside – and then squaked. He had grabbed a handful of someone's hair. Who was in his bed?

He struggled to sit up and blinked rapidly before peering over at the other side of the bed. The only thing he saw was a yard of – golden hair. Oh no. No no no no no no no no!

"Apollo!" Hermes squeaked, and the god in question sat up, pulling the blanket off of his face. "Huh?" he said in a sleepy voice. Even in the morning he was breathtaking.

"What –" Hermes began to ask, but choked on his own voice. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "What are you doing in my bed?"

"You asked me to sleep here."

Which was exactly what Hermes had feared.

"I – I did?"

Apollo nodded. His lips turned up in a small smile. "I didn't think it would be a good idea to leave you here alone, anyway."

Hermes blushed. "Was it that bad?"

"You were following Ares around and poking him in his - ah-hem—buttocks."

Hermes groaned, burying his face in his hands. Ares was probably furious, which was never a good thing. Apollo's smile widened as though he had read Hermes' mind. He climbed out of bed, running a hand through his ridiculously long hair and stretching out his muscles. Hermes forced himself not to watch, opting to stare out the window instead. "I'll see you later," Apollo said as he tied his hair back. Hermes, lost in thought, didn't answer.

"Where have you been?!" Hermes demanded of Apollo.

It had been a week since Dionysus's party, and this was the first time Hermes had seen Apollo since the morning after.

"On Earth," was Apollo's vague response. He was sitting on his throne polishing his lyre. Hermes was standing in front of him with his hands on his hips.

"'On Earth'?" Hermes echoed. "'On Earth'?! Do you have any idea how worried your sister has been? How worried I've been?!"

"Maybe it's not your business to worry about me," Apollo snapped, setting aside the instrument.

Hermes recoiled at the sharp words and stared at Apollo with hurt in his green eyes.

Apollo sighed. "I didn't mean to say it like that. There's a reason that I left for awhile, Hermes. This thing between us has to stop."

Hermes was silent, so Apollo continued. "Zeus is making me marry Persephone," he said, not quite meeting the messenger's eyes.

Hermes felt like he had been hit by one of his father's thunderbolts. "But I thought you talked him out of that!"

Apollo shrugged. "Demeter talked to me about it. Apparently if she is wed to someone besides Hades, she would be free from her bind to the Underworld."

Hermes was speechless for several moments. When he finally found his voice, he said, "So that's it? You're just – going to marry her? Just like that?"

"Is there a reason why I shouldn't?" he countered.

And Hermes had no answer.