Alexa was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's an amazing thing, when you expect the worst to happen, when you're expecting anything and everything, getting nothing only increases your anxiety.
They got through the speeches just fine, food was being served, a few of the campers were hiding smiles as one of the boys from Ares' cabin continued to try to pronounce filet mignon, and more than a few pictures had been taken, but still Alexa couldn't help but worry.
Jazz gave Alexa a little nudge.
"So, tell me the truth." She said in a low tone "Did you make the rings?"
Alexa peeked around the room once before nodding quietly.
"Mostly mundane. Only thing extra I added was my maker's mark under the main facet." She admitted quietly. "Sean's got one on his too."
Jazz smiled and gave her another nudge.
"Thought maybe it'd turn into something cool like a big gold canon or something!" She teased.
"Well now you went and ruined the surprise for your birthday!" Alexa complained, the pair breaking into quiet giggles. When it passed Alexa found herself asking a question that had been on her mind for days now.
"Jazz... What's it like?" She asked.
"What's what like?" Jazz asked right back.
"You know, being in love, wanting to get married and stuff." Alexa continued, blinking up at Jazz.
"Oh please! You're not expecting me to get all mushy are you?" Jazz laughed. "I guess if I had to describe it...it's like having someone who you know will always be in your corner, who'll have your back no matter what, someone who you'd do anything to protect...and also on top of all that you want to take them to bed until you're both so exhausted you can't stand."
"Eww! Jazz!" Alexa gagged.
"What? You asked!" She teased
"Yeah but I didn't want that image in my head!" Alexa shuddered.
"Yeah?" Jazz asked with a wicked glint in her eye. "Well during our final week at school Sean talked me into doing yoga together! So there I was doing the downward dog pose and Sean-!"
Alexa's psyche was saved by a new voice cutting in over the microphone.
"Alright everyone, I hope you're all ready to get your bodies moving!" Called the blonde wedding singer. "First dance is all about the wedding party! Hope the photographer has their camera ready!"
Alexa got to her feet and immediately had her hand snagged by her logical partner. She looked at Blaine's hand, then at him with a raised eyebrow. Blaine grinned and shrugged slightly. Reluctantly Alexa followed Blaine and the others to the dance floor to quite a bit of applause all around.
The song started, soft and low, a slow dance track played by the four golden haired women, the man busting out a small harp to play along.
It was then that Blaine realized something that Alexa had always known; while her fingers could dance along a metal project until the cows came home, her feet were not quite so skilled. Within the first few seconds her toe found Blaine's. Both winced, but continued their slow, awkward shuffle as the song continued to play. Second by second of torture while the camera clicked and flashed.
Alexa tried to keep smiling when she saw the lens coming out of the corner of her eye, but she could feel her cheeks burning. She had probably pulverized his foot by now! It was nothing short of a miracle that she hadn't managed to stab him with her heel!
The song came to its conclusion and the crowd clapped once again. Alexa and Blaine were already hurrying back to the wedding party's table, she walking, he hobbling slightly, when the man on stage made an announcement that made Alexa and several others do a double take.
"Alright everyone, hope you got your tissues ready because it's tear jerker time! It's time for the father/daughter dance! Where's that proud papa?" The singer's smile was dazzling as his eyes roved over the crowd. Alexa had just opened her mouth and took one step towards the stage when another voice answered.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm right here." Alexa turned and found the speaker cutting through the crowd. As eyes fell upon him, back's immediately straightened. He was a tall man, easily six feet and change, with raven black hair cut in crew cut. He was handsome in that intimidating way, emphasizing your own inadequacies. His sneer, although far more mean-spirited, was quite similar in many respects to the barbed wire grin Alexa knew so well from Jazz. He wore a military dress uniform, though which branch Alexa hadn't the foggiest idea, with several small pins and medals decorating the left breast.
He walked right up to the bride and groom, both of whom looked a bit unsure.
"So, you're the punk that convinced my girl to marry you, huh?" Asked the god of war, just the barest hint of nuclear fire in his dark brown eyes.
"Yes sir." Sean said, his expression unreadable.
"Yes sir." Ares mocked, his voice going up an extra octave. He then stepped closer and his voice dropped. Sean and he had a quiet conversation, Ares still sneering and glaring, Sean getting progressively redder, though not any louder as he hissed at the god. Finally Sean said something and Ares threw back his head and laughed. He slapped Sean on the shoulder.
"See kid! There it is! You don't get to marry my daughter unless you got balls, and you must have a massive set swinging between your legs, talking to me like that! Alright, shrimpy, alright, I'm not gonna fight Jazz's fights for her. Just let me get the dance in and then I'll leave you two be." The room relaxed noticeably and Sean quickly peeled away from the father and daughter. He hurried back to the table and looked at Alexa.
"That's your uncle?" He hissed in a low voice.
"Yup." Alexa said with a chuckle.
"I…I thought I was either going to crap my pants or strangle him!" Sean whispered incredulously.
"Yeah, that sounds about right. He has that effect on people." Alexa mused. The wedding singer had put away his harp and took up the mic again. One of the women played a few sad notes on a fiddle and the man dropped his voice slightly and began to sing.
"I never once backed down from a punch, I took it square on the chin. I found out fast that bullies just slap, you gotta stand up to him." Ares glared at the man, but if he had any misgivings about having the god of war looking at him with death on the mind, he had a funny way of showing it. He just grinned a bit brighter, winked, and continued his song.
"I didn't cry when I got a black eye, as bad as it hurt I just grinned. But when tough little boys grow up to be dads, they turn into big babies again." Ares grunted with annoyance and returned his gaze to Jazz. His eyes softened, if only by a fraction, and the two began to dance. They were talking as they moved, both in Ancient Greek, but in a very low tone so as to not be overheard. Alexa's lip reading wasn't exactly the best, but if she was accurate at all Ares was either offering to turn someone into a gopher, or talking about outdoor furniture, and Jazz was rolling her eyes and declining either way.
The song came to its end and Ares, the god of war, the most bloodthirsty and ill-tempered god Alexa could ever hope to meet, did something Alexa would've never expected; He gave Jazz a smile, and a big, if somewhat awkward, hug.
"Love ya, kid. Forget it and I'll make you regret it! Don't let that boy toy of yours make you too soft!" He said before pulling away. He had just spotted Melody. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some catching up to do before I head out."
To Alexa's great surprise, Ares didn't slip away after talking with Melody. The god stayed for the rest of the reception, dancing with Melody, casually judging Sean's family, occasionally arm wrestling with one of his other kids. It confused Alexa to no end, but she tried not to let it show as she danced and mingled. That is until he finally caught her eye near the end of the reception. He jerked his head towards the exit and slipped outside. Alexa made her excuses and followed after him.
When she got out of the building she found that Ares had changed. He had removed his military uniform in favor of black jeans, a blood red shirt, and a black leather jacket. When Alexa walked out he was just putting on the finishing touch, a pair of sunglasses despite the late hour, hiding the fire his eyes had been replaced by.
"You took your time. I got places to be." Ares grunted.
"Sorry, it's harder to move in a dress than I imagined." Alexa said, glancing over her shoulder at the door. "I... before anything else, I just wanted to thank you for coming. It really meant the world to Jazz."
Ares stared at her, a puff of sulfurous smoke rising from behind the glasses.
"Like I wasn't going to come. We ain't exactly flush when it comes to weddings in our family, kid. Lots of funerals, though, those can be a riot to crash if you know what you're doing!" Ares chuckled darkly. Alexa weakly hoped he was joking but knew somewhere deep down that he wasn't.
"So...uh...what did you want?" She asked, hoping to change the subject.
"Paying off a debt. Got two that involve you specifically, since they knew I'd be in the area. Thought I'd have the time to give it to ya before everything but that idiot Kydoimos somehow ended up in Texas. Last time I trust that moron with security detail!" He gave his knuckles an agitated crack.
"Security?" Alexa asked.
"You honestly think monsters wouldn't start sniffing around this many half-bloods?" He shot back. "Thought you were supposed to be smart! I got three gods looking after this whole town tonight! Anyway, not why I'm here! I got messages to deliver! First off your old man wanted me to tell you that he's proud, not many of his get this far, apple of his eye, something about a spark plug, blah, blah, blah!"
Although Alexa felt her anger spike at how flippantly it was given to her she couldn't help puffing up with pride. Hephaestus had noticed her! He was proud of her!
"The second message is this!" He said, waving a hand and snatching a sealed envelope out of the air. He held it out to her. "Smells to me like marching orders, but what do I know?"
Alexa quickly took it from him, she had to stop herself from opening it right there. This was Jazz's day...she could wait until she got home. She did, however, carefully put the letter into the small handbag Sonya had insisted she get.
"Thank you." Alexa said graciously.
"Whatever. Now if we're done here, I have a god who needs his teeth knocked out and a freebie date night to plan out!" Alexa felt an odd sense of disorientation, and the next thing she knew she was sitting on the curb and Ares was gone.
"Woah…" Alexa muttered.
"Grumpy, right?" A voice said next to her. She turned to find, of all people, the wedding singer standing next to her. He grinned down at her. "Don't worry about him, he hasn't been sleeping too well lately."
"I...how…?" Alexa tried to kick her brain back into gear.
"Wait, hold up, I got something!" The wedding singer said. "Grumpy god of war, attends his daughter's wedding, manly tears were shed! Dang, that haiku was bugging me all night!"
"I...you're Apollo." Alexa guessed.
"In the flesh!" Apollo chirped, helping Alexa to her feet.
"Okay...but...Ares I saw coming to some extent but...why are you here?" Alexa asked.
"Two reasons, really...okay maybe three. One, I love a good party and since Dionysus is banned from a rager for a few more decades, this seemed nice enough." Apollo explained. If he noticed the slight shiver from Alexa he didn't mention it.
"Reason number two, like Ares said, weddings are rare for you half-bloods, even rarer for children of his! Last time Ares got to attend a wedding for one of his kids, Fillmore was in the White House! I wasn't about to miss him getting all misty with 'liquid pride'. The third reason...well...I guess that's because you'd be here." He smiled down at Alexa, his overly white teeth blazing like the sun.
"Me?" Alexa half squeaked.
"Of course, you! A demigod taking on the path of Heracles, and managing to complete the first labor? You're famous on Olympus, kid! Over two thirds of the would-be heroes fail on the first labor, and Hera isn't exactly someone to take it easy on heroes! I got it on good authority that Calliope is already starting pre-production on an animated series!" All of this information was making Alexa's head spin.
"I...a cartoon?" Alexa found herself asking.
"And probably a line of collectables or something! I just came out here to get on the ground floor and offer some advice." He gave her shoulder a pat and Alexa's ears perked up.
"Advice?" She asked. As she watched Apollo had started to fade away, like the glow of the sun at dusk. Even his hand on her shoulder began to feel insubstantial.
"Yeah. The Labors usually have to be completed alone, but it's never a bad thing to accept help from friends, even if they can't help with the big part...you just have to be willing to ask for help." Before Alexa could ask for a follow up, Apollo had disappeared, leaving her alone outside the community center.
Author's Note: The song being sung is Tough Little Boys by Gary Allen. I also considered You'll Be in My Heart by Phil Collins but I think Ares would've beat Apollo bloody before the first note had he done that