Rising from the rubble, Hephaestus gazed sadly down at the molten metal dripping from his palms. The remains of his once mighty forge-his home away from home- lay in ruins around him. Dust filled the air, the very dirt beneath the crumbled wall flying due to the shaking of the earth.

He could already feel the stares; the building's fall must have shaken half of Olympus-he could only imagine how the mortals were reacting down below- and they would leave their still sleep-filled houses to investigate the cause sooner or later.

Bile filled his throat as the thought of the others seeing him like this...knowing that he was this weak...his head snapped up as the sound of wings beating against the air surrounding him, the motion blowing away most of the dust. With a soft thump, Eros landed beside the much older god, a length of black fabric draped over one arm.

Upon seeing his son, the older man's weak mask crumbled and he felt his throat clench with emotion. The younger god's arms quickly pulled Hephaestus into a comforting embrace, and in the same fluid motion, pulling the cloak over the crumbling mountain of a man. He hated feeling his father's back tremble under his fingers...hated to see him hurt so much.

"Don't worry Father...we'll fix it. I won't let them see." taking a step back, the love god pulled his crippled father away from the slowly oncoming crowd.

Aphrodite didn't see her husband again for many weeks, only hearing from the other god through her son. Sitting in her shared palace with Eros and his wife, she nervously chewed on the nail of her thumb, looking down onto the remains of Hephaestus's once-mighty forge. The nymphs and mechanical wonders that usually worked in the forge had been spending many of their days cleaning up the ruins, lamenting the loss of the wonderful building that used to be their home.

Sighing quietly to herself, Aphrodite pulled her hair over one shoulder, hastily beginning to braid the tresses. Ugh, all of this stress was beginning to give her split ends. Leaning back in her chair, the goddess released her hair, looking up at the ceiling. Today was the first day since the argument that she had had truly to herself. Eros, while he had been quite conservative with his information, had been a godsend, helping her hide and comforting her with her grief.

A gentle tap on the doorframe startled her from her thoughts. Spinning in her seat, the love goddess felt her throat clench as the tall form of Ares leaned against the marble frame of the door.

"Hey babe." he murmured, fiery orange eyes glancing around the room before finally resting on her.

Rising from her chair, Aphrodite quickly rushed towards the war god, flinging her arms around him and resting her head against his broad chest. His heart, she found, was quite a comfort to her when she was upset or confused. Listening to the organ pulse calmed her raw nerves. He didn't hesitate to wrap his much larger arms around her frail shoulders, resting his chin in her hair.

"You okay babe?' he asked, running his palm over her back.

Taking in slow breaths in time with the much larger man's heartbeat, Aphrodite slowly tipped her head back to look up at the man holding her. "I..I think so," she whispered, her chest clenching.

Opening his mouth, Ares began to say something only to be interrupted by another knock on the door. Craning her neck, Aphrodite met the eyes of her son who stood watching his two parents. "Mother. I have something for you." the man's voice was tense as his eyes glanced at his birth father's back. Things had been tense between the two for a long time, so much so that the two rarely ever spoke to each other.

Stepping away from Ares, she felt calmed by her lover's large palm that rested on the small of her back as she approached her son. "What is it, my dear?" Aphrodite asked, standing between the two men. She could feel Ares' eyes burning holes into the back of her head.

Eros' own orange irises met her amber-colored eyes before the young god clicked his tongue and reached into his messenger bag, pulling out a small envelope. "This is from Dad." his eyes flickered towards Ares before he gently took Aphrodite's hand and gave her the envelope.

She stared at the envelope held before her for a long moment. She knew that whatever was written on that piece of paper would change her, for better or for worse. With shaking hands, she took the envelope from her son, her fingers clenching against the stiff paper. It was heavy, much too heave to be just a simple letter. He was always one to go over the top, wasn't he? She trembled as she broke the wax seal, pausing only to run her fingertips over the hammer and anvil formed with the dark burgundy wax. Pulling out the folded piece of paper, Aphrodite had to stifle a shudder at the raw emotion rolling off of the letter and almost cried at the delicate bracelet found beside it.

She found her eyes scanning the carefully written page and could just picture Hephaestus slouched over his desk writing it. He would be surrounded by scraps and balls of crumpled up papers as he tried to put his thoughts into words. He would be mouthing along with what he wrote, a quirk he used to make sure what he was writing made sense. She had seen him do it countless times before when he wrote to the humans who raised them and to their descendants that followed. Gently running the tips of her fingers over Hephaestus's familiar, scratchy handwriting, she found herself giggling at the words, amused that even in what must have been the hundredth draft, he still hastily crossed out thoughts he deemed unworthy to be spoken to her. Taking a slow breath, Aphrodite finally allowed herself to read it.

"My dearest Aphrodite,

You of all people should know that words aren't my strong suit, I am far better far more suited at expressing my thoughts and feelings through my work. I let my hands and my gifts my creations speak for me. But I feel that you deserve an explanation, and I finally deserve to express my thoughts in a way that even you should understand.

All of my life, I have accepted what I had been given, but not without spite, and not without anger. I'm sure you recall my...entrance into the Halls of Olympus, something Hera still won't let me live down these centuries later. I had let my anger, my hurt, rule my actions. After that day, I resigned myself to going back to my peaceful ways. Just walk through life doing the work I loved, accepting what was given or taken, and never expecting anything in return, It was simple, easy. I couldn't be hurt and I couldn't hurt others with that lifestyle.

You can imagine my elation shock when Zeus himself came to me, offering your hand in marriage. I was confused at first, but quite happy. I, like many others, was taken with your beauty and would have loved even the smallest opportunity to even come close to being worthy of your attention. But I am not naive, Aphrodite. I knew what I was know what I am, and it is not the beauty you deserve to wake up to every morning for the rest of eternity. Someone like you deserves to be surrounded by beauty.

I hadn't known that Zeus was pawning you off, not at first. I thought that perhaps you had wanted a humble husband with skills to match yours, for while I may not be much, my work speaks for itself. When I learned what he was doing, we were already married. If I had known that you had no interest, I wouldn't have gone through with it. It is most cruel to tie someone to something they can't love, and I don't blame you for it.

While we were married, I got..hopeful, one could say. I figured if you were still around, I had a chance. A chance to show you what we could be if we tried. I made you gifts, I made you a palace with the most beautiful materials I could get my hands on. I knew you weren't pleased with the situation, but I thought that maybe I could make your life with me easier; surround you with the beauty you deserved.

And then I got angry..and I suppose I want to apologize for that. I shouldn't have tried to humiliate you and Ares the way I did. It was unfair; you weren't happy in our marriage, but you were with him. And in my anger, I tried to punish you. I was shocked when everyone's laughter turned to me instead, for they knew long ago that this would happen.

Ah, but I suppose I should get to the point? I'm sure your time should be spent on other things. Aphrodite, I love you, with every fiber of my being. My very soul calls for, and my work has all been done with you in mind. I suppose you could say you're my muse but that is no reason to force you to be with me. So, as an apology for centuries of your unhappiness, I am letting you go. You will no longer be tied to me. You will be free. Free to surround yourself with beauty and love. Free to take the husband and life you deserve. I will speak with Zeus first thing in the morning.

I do, however, have one last, selfish request. Please allow me to keep Eros under my name. I love the boy much as I would have we had children, and I don't believe I will make it far without him. He's my son, Aphrodite, it may just be in name alone but I need him. I'm sure that sounds weak of me, so I'll apologize again for such a selfish request.

Forever Yours, Hephaestus

(The bracelet is yours to keep. Another apology gift, if you will)"

Aphrodite couldn't breathe.