I understand there is some concern about Barry's being Aphrodite's son, but hopefully this chapter will satisfy those issues.

Italics are flashbacks, bold italics are French.

Guest2.0: Yep, he certainly does. Why is it hilarious though?

Camp Half-blood

Morning

A few days later, Barry sat by the canoe lake, halfheartedly skipping stones across the lake. It was the early morning dawn; no one else was awake yet as the sun was just starting to rise. Barry's thoughts were on his meeting with Chiron a few days earlier.

After the shock had set in for Barry, it all happened in a blur for him. Chiron and the hill billy who Chiron introduced as 'Mr. D.' led him over to a big house that Chiron called 'The Big House'. How original, Barry thought absently.

They were in a room with a ping pong table, Barry sitting in a chair across from Chiron and Mr. D. Mr. D. was looking at Barry disdainfully, like he was something disgusting he saw on the ground.

"Two of you in one week. Zeus must be punishing me," Mr. D. said.

"Forgive Mr. D., he is…irritable," Chiron said with a pointed look at the activities director.

"'Two of you'. Two of what?" Barry asked, finding his voice.

"Demigods," M. D. said with a scowl.

"But I'm not a…" Barry swallowed, unable to say it. "My dad was a doctor and my mom was a real estate agent, I watched them both die."

"I do not doubt you Barry," Chiron said gently before speaking again. "But the gods do not claim just anyone, you are Aphrodite's son."

"She made a mistake then, I'm not one of them," Barry said before he realized that Chiron had been speaking another language that he had not only understood, but spoken himself without realizing it. "W-what was that?"

"A test. All Aphrodite children can speak French, as it is the language of love," Chiron said gently.

"You may not want to be a Demigod Barty Albert, but you are one," Mr. D. said, looking at Barry with purple flames in his eyes.

And then Barry had been shown to a room in The Big House, Chiron realizing that subjecting Barry to the Aphrodite cabin at the moment would not be helping matters. Barry had just sort of been in a daze these last few days, having trouble comprehending this whole thing.

When Oliver had told him about the Greek gods being real, Barry had never imagined he would be one of them. It didn't make sense; he had seen how in love his parents were. How could he be Aphrodite's son? Out of frustration, Barry used his super speed to increase his momentum and tossed a stone clear across the lake.

"Impressive, most impressive," a voice spoke up behind him.

Barry stiffened, disbelief flooding him. He knew that voice, almost as well as his own. But it couldn't be, Barry told himself as he looked over his shoulder.

Nora Allen stood behind him, looking younger and more beautiful than Barry could ever recall her looking during his childhood. She was wearing a beautiful red dress and high heels that made her beauty stand out.

"I always loved the lake here," Nora said as she looked out at the lake, giving Barry a moment to take it in.

"Mom?" he breathed as he got to his feet and she smiled sadly.

"Hello my sweet boy," she said gently and it took Barry a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Aphrodite," Barry said lowly and she nodded. "…There's no one in Nora Allen's grave in Central City, is there?"

"No, there is," Aphrodite said, confusing Barry.

"But you and Nora are the same," Barry said and she nodded. "I don't understand."

"It's a complicated tale," she admitted, placing her hand on his shoulder. "To understand is know my story. Tell me, what do you know of my past?"

"When the Titan Kronos killed his father Ouranos, he threw his body into the sea. From his blood, some foam was formed, which gave form to you. You then appeared on Olympus and joined the gods," Barry said and she nodded.

"All true. Upon my arrival, Poseidon, Zeus and the other male Olympians began to feud over me, enamored by my beauty. I was a new goddess; I barely knew what my abilities were, let alone how to control them. To keep the peace between the gods, Hera proposed to marry me to Hephaestus," Aphrodite said, her eyes holding a deep sadness. "Barely a moment I had on Olympus before I was married to man I did not know, who I could not love. I suppose that's why Ares was able to seduce me, because it gave me some semblance of control over my life. Ares was my rebellion against Hera and my marriage that felt more like a prison sentence."

Barry was silent as he looked at his mother. She watched the lake as she spoke, her voice carrying some healed but deeply remembered pain. No, not healed, resigned, Barry realized with a start. She was resigned to her fate, but she was not happy. In a way, she was still a prisoner, forever tied to Hephaestus.

"Hephaestus was not a bad man, he just did not connect with people as much as he did machines," she continued. "At first I tried, tried to make it more bearable, less of a prison sentence than a marriage, but I could not love him. And the rebellion with Ares faded after a few years."

"But you still stayed with him. Ares I mean," Barry clarified and Aphrodite flashed a pain smile.

"Left to his own devices, Ares would have the mortals kill each other in an endless war. I am able to temper his need for war to an extent by distracting him. He knows why I stay with him but sees me as a possession, which is why he is able to pursue other lovers," Aphrodite sighed miserably. "I had never known love in all my centuries of existence. I had known attraction, desire, lust, but never love…not until your father.

"One of my children had a fashion show in Central City. I was there to observe from a distance when I saw him. A man had collapsed on the street and your father rushed to help him. He saved that man's life. He didn't hesitate to try and help him. It had been…a long time since I had seen such selflessness. I approached him later, we talked. He was the first man to not be captured by my beauty, who just seemed to want to listen to what I had to say. Looking back, that's what made me fall in love with him in the beginning," Aphrodite had a light in her eyes as she talked about his father, Barry could feel the love she felt for him, still.

"Did he know? Did dad know about you?" Barry finally asked what he hadn't had the courage to ask.

"No," Aphrodite said with a sad smile. "When I told him I was pregnant, he pulled out a ring and asked me to marry him. I knew all the reasons why I should say no, why I should have told him the truth, but I was in love for the first time, so I said yes. I wish I could go back to that moment, stop myself for what I had set in motion."

"What are you talking about?" Barry asked confused as she turned to look at him, her eyes filled with regret.

"I turned my back on the other Olympians. Hecate, goddess of magic and The Mist, was a close friend of mine. She knew of my suffering, so she agreed to hide me from their sight. For years, I hid from the other gods in the form of Nora Allen. Until that night," Aphrodite said grimly and Barry knew immediately what she was talking about.

"The night Thawne came back to kill me," Barry said and she nodded.

"Thawne was a son of Athena. I'm not entirely unconvinced that Zeus didn't somehow find out about you were my son and helped Thawne find out who you were," Aphrodite said, to Barry's shock.

"He'd really do that?" Barry asked although the grim look on his mother's face was answer enough.

"Zeus is petty and vengeful, never underestimate his cruelty. Hades can attest to that," she warned him. "I had long since renounced my immortality in order to live a mortal life with you and your father, but the moment my mortal body died, I was reborn as a goddess once more. Only once I retook my responsibilities did I see the consequences of my actions."

"What are you talking about Mom?" Barry asked and she looked at him, her eyes filled with tears of regret and sadness.

"My selfishness has cost you so much my sweet boy," she said, smiling tearfully as she put a hand on one side of his side. "You and Iris were never meant to fall in love."

"What?" Barry asked in shock, sure he had misheard her.

"In the twelve years I spent with your father as Nora Allen, I neglected my responsibilities. While I focused on my own happiness, people who weren't destined to fall in love did, sending them on paths they never should have been on. This included you and Iris," Aphrodite said as she dropped her hand back to her side. "You two were destined for much different things, to be very different people. But my selfishness caused you to be thrown off your destined path."

"If we were never meant to be together, why didn't you stop us from falling in love?" Barry demanded, sure this was all some sick joke.

"I tried, but I cannot invoke feelings of love, I can only bring you into contact with people you may love. I tried to bring you women who would be a better match for you. Caitlin Snow nearly left Star Labs after the death of Ronnie Raymond, I convinced her to stay, even though she doesn't realize this. I brought you into contact with Linda Park, but you couldn't let go of Iris. None of the women I brought you ever strayed you from Iris…save one," Aphrodite said and Barry stiffened.

"Don't bring Patty into this," Barry muttered.

"I have to. Barry, open your eyes," Aphrodite pleaded, grabbing his face and making him look at her tear filled eyes. "You are meant for so much more than this. You have to let go of your attachment to Iris. I have seen your future Barry and if you don't…it will destroy you and everything you hold dear."

Barry was numb, his min whirling as Aphrodite lowered her hands from his face.

"You will have a role to play in the Crisis that approaches," Aphrodite said lowly, wiping her eyes. "I hope you make the right choices my sweet boy. Know that, no matter what happens, I am with you, always."

Aphrodite turned away from him and, to Barry's shock, turned into a red dove before flying off. Barry wasn't sure how long he had stood there, staring after her when he heard the telltale sounds of Chiron's hooves before the Centaur arrived a few feet from him.

"Are you alright?" Chiron asked concerned as he saw Barry.

"I got a visit from my mother," Barry said lowly and Chiron nodded.

"Did it help?" Chiron asked gently.

"No. Now I'm more confused than ever," Barry muttered, feeling more lost than he ever had in his life.

Rick Riordan did a lot of things in the Percy Jackson universe with the gods I found really interesting, but his portrayal of Aphrodite was not one of them.

When you look at her backstory, Aphrodite is just such a tragic character. But, rather than show her as tragic, Rick instead portrays her as selfish and ditzy, as well as seeming to enjoy the torment she puts Percy and Annabeth through. It honestly feels like Rick is trying to tell us, given his love of metaphors, that love is inheritably a selfish and destructive emotion. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but that's how it came off to me.

I know that the gods are shown as being inheritably prideful and vain, but Rick could have at least shown Aphrodite having some personality other than the selfish ditz.