Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.

Note***- Will be boy x boy. (I promise, it is coming) Don't like? You don't have to read.

ΩΩΩ

January 22nd

Percy POV

My day started to get weird as soon as I sat down to breakfast with Apollo.

"When was the last time you spared with a decent partner?"

I looked up and tilted my head in confusion. Considering we had just been talking about sun chariot, I wasn't sure what brought on the sudden change in topic.

"What?"

The god of music raised one eyebrow. "I've been thinking and I cannot recall the last time you practiced with a sword."

I frowned. "What are you talking about? I just practiced with you like two days ago."

He waved my comment away. "Ya, but I said a decent opponent. I'm more a student then a challenger."

I gave him a disbelieving look, "What about yesterday? We just killed the Nemean lion; doesn't that count as a 'decent opponent'?"

"That's exactly my point; you could be attacked at any time. So you should be practicing more. Who knows the next time we're going to be fighting for our lives?"

I shook my head, "Why are we discussing my fighting skills when you still can't even come close to beating me?"

He rolled his eyes. "That may be true, but I'm hardly the bar to measure yourself against. What happens the next time you face off against someone better than you?"

I threw my hands in the air in exasperation, "I have no idea what you are even talking about right now."

"It's okay Percy. I'm just trying to say, I understand what's going on."

I scoffed, "Well at least one of us does." If he heard me, he gave no indication of it.

He put an arm around my shoulders. "I've been where you are. I know you're still sad about Annabeth. That's why it's hard for you to practice like you used to. You feel like you have no energy, but you need to fight that feeling. I have a great idea! You should go to the arena and find someone to spar with. Why not ask Jason, he's pretty good."

I winced internally. That was the first time Apollo had ever mentioned our breakup, but the pain I felt was vastly eclipsed by my bewilderment.

"Apollo, I don't..." I shook my head. "You're being weirder than normal. Is there a reason I should go to the arena?"

He looked at me in fake surprise and smiled, "The arena! What a brilliant idea Perce, why don't you head out now?"

"What? But I... you're the one who suggested it!"

He stood up, grabbed my arm, and started pulling me towards the door. "It's okay Percy. I understand that you need to work out your anger in a constructive way. I'm not judging you."

"But I wasn't even finished breakfast! Besides, I didn't even..." He pulled open the door and pushed me into the hallway.

"It's okay. You don't need to explain it to me. Go; work out your anger and frustration. I will see you in a couple hours, okay?"

With that he tossed me my shoes and slammed the door. I heard a click as the lock slid home. I stood in the hallway watching the door for almost five minutes before I finally found my voice.

"What the Hades just happened?"

ΩΩΩ

Apollo POV

I sighed in relief when I finally heard Percy walk away. I was worried that he would try to get back in. I spent so much time with the son of Poseidon lately that I had no idea how to get him out of the house without me. Suggesting sparring with someone else was literally the only idea I had and frankly, I was surprised it had worked.

"Okay Hephaestus, he's gone."

There was a bright flash and suddenly, the god of the forge was standing in our living room.

"Good. The last thing I need is some young mortal getting in the way while I hook everything up."

I raised an eyebrow at the son of Hera. "You do realize that he's not a mortal anymore right?"

He huffed and waved me comment away. "He's not chosen godhood yet either so, close enough."

I tried to hide my surprise behind a blank mask. The more time that past, the easier it was for me to forget that technically, Percy wasn't a god. He could choose mortality. I took a deep breath and forced the thought away. He hadn't made his decision yet and there was no point in worrying about it until he had.

I shook my head and forced a smile. "So I was thinking we could put it in the living room."

The god of smiths looked at me like I was an idiot. "Alright, where exactly were you thinking of putting it? I may be a god, but I can't just magically make extra space in your house."

I frowned and glanced around. He was right. Since I moved everything from my office to the living room there really wasn't much space, definitely not enough to put a T.V.

"Oh... I didn't think about that."

He rolled his eyes. "I will make this simple for you. This apartment isn't huge. Short of getting rid of about half of your books, it's not going to fit in your living room. So you have two options, I could either set it up in the kitchen, or I could put it in your room."

I ran a hand through my hair. The kitchen would be alright, but I didn't like the thought of having to sit on a kitchen chair for the duration of an entire movie. I preferred to sprawl out.

"Come on Apollo. I'm a busy god and you aren't getting any younger."

"Hardy har har," I glared at the god of the forge but he just smiled. I sighed and shook my head. I couldn't fault him the joke, I probably would have said the same thing if someone else was the one turned mortal. I looked back at the kitchen once more before I made my decision. "Alright, the bedroom it is."

ΩΩΩ

I had to clear the top of my dresser from all the poetry books that had migrated from the shelves to my room. I enjoyed reading, but I had the terrible habit of never putting them back where they were supposed to be. Once that was done though, the set up was fast. Hephaestus may not have been the most talkative of gods, but he was sure a lot faster than most cable men were.

He set up the electronics and I just stood out of the way. I knew better than to try to help. Within fifteen minutes he had the T.V., DVD, and surround sound set up.

I had already given him the lion skin when we had spoken last night, so I just smiled. "Thanks Hephaestus, it's awesome."

He simply nodded in acknowledgment. He knew that his televisions were the best in the world. He was the god of inventors after all.

"I know. I still can't understand why I would agree to trade you one of my T.V.'s just so that you could impress your newest boyfriend though."

The instant I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, I knew it was too late to say that we were not dating. Even though it may have been the truth, he wouldn't have bought it anyway. Hephaestus may not have been the god of love, but he wasn't stupid either. He could see right through my half-truths and everyone knew about my appreciation for beauty, regardless of gender.

I felt my blush darken further, "It's... not like that. Percy and I are just friends."

He gave me a disbelieving look, "Really? Are you trying to tell me that's what you want?"

I shifted uncomfortably under the smith god's scrutiny. The downside of immortality was that after a few eons, it became really easy for your friends to read you. I had two options. I could say yes in regards to his first question and ignore answering his second question since I couldn't actually lie, or I could tell him the truth.

I may not have been as close to the son of Hera as I was to Hermes, but I would still consider us almost friends. He was one of the more trustworthy gods and was unlikely to spread around what was said in confidence.

I sighed, I really hoped this wouldn't come back to bite me in the butt. "No, but it's the way things are."

The smith god laughed loudly, "Suddenly it makes more sense as to why you'd trade me the skin of the Nemean Lion. You're trying to woo him!"

I frowned, "No I'm not. He's still trying to get over the daughter of Athena. Besides, he did more than half the work killing the monster. I'm doing this because it will make him happy. He's been wanting one of your T.V.'s ever since he found out they existed."

He gave me a strange look, as though I was a puzzle he was trying to solve. He was silent for several minutes before he finally spoke. "You really care for this one, don't you?"

I sighed. "Yes, but it doesn't matter. I won't ruin a good friendship just for a fling. He means more to me than that."

He looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time. "It doesn't have to ruin your friendship. Love can be a good thing too you know."

I felt my body tense like he had just hit me. "No, not for me it can't. None of my relationships end well and I'm not in love..." I took a deep breath and looked away. "I won't fall in love with Percy. I can't do that to him."

"You can't control who you fall for any more than I can; only Aphrodite can do that." The god of the smith shook his head sadly. "But I will wish you luck. I have a feeling you're going to need it."

ΩΩΩ

He only hung around for a few more minutes after our talk, just long enough to tell me how everyone on Olympus was. He also gave me a stack of classic movies. He told me they were a gift but he wouldn't say who asked him to give them to me. Before I could try to wheedle the answer out of him, he flashed out.

I glanced through the box of movies, hoping the titles might give me a clue as to who sent them. They seemed to be an assortment of every genre, from horror to comedy. That wouldn't help me narrow it down at all.

I sighed and shrugged. I was sure I'd find out eventually.

ΩΩΩ

Percy POV

The more time that passed, the more bizarre Apollo's behaviour seemed. Something had to be wrong with him. I was rather preoccupied by my thoughts. I hoped he wasn't getting sick.

I did in fact end up tracking Jason down and convincing him to spar with me. However, my distracted state of mind clearly affected my fighting. After the third time Jason knocked me down, I realized that I had to stop worrying.

It took some effort, but I was able to put the thoughts out of my head. Once I did, our fighting got a lot more intense. We had more than one younger camper decide to leave the training grounds. We kept going until both of us felt ready to fall down. After nine rounds, Jason was at 5 wins, I was at four. It bugged me since I was sure if I had been focusing at the beginning, I would have won more.

We both put away our weapons and went to collapse on the grass. Even though he had won the day, I felt happy. Apollo had been right. I needed to spar more often.

"Well that was fun."

The son of Jupiter looked at me and smiled. "Ya, it really was... I would feel better though if we hadn't pretty much just taken over the whole practice arena."

I looked out over the grounds and winced. There weren't that many people there anymore. "Not much we can do about that. I don't blame them. It's intense when two kids of the big three start fighting. There's always a chance of their powers coming out. I wouldn't want to be there if you and Nico ever got in a real fight."

The golden boy grimaced, "I already know what it would look like if you and me ever really fought."

I glanced at Jason out the corner of my eye and smirked. "Don't worry; I'd make sure to beat you quickly."

He turned to me and raised one eyebrow, "Oh really? You think you'd beat me? Who won the most fights today?"

I scoffed and shrugged, "I let you win. I didn't want you getting too depressed when faced with my awesomeness."

The son of Jupiter laughed, "I think Fred's rubbing off on you Percy."

I chuckled. Thinking of Apollo though made me want to go check on him. His actions this morning still confused me. I just wanted to make sure he was okay, "Perhaps. Anyway, I should be getting back to the apartment. I need a shower."

He smiled, "Me too. Piper and I have a date tonight, and I doubt she'd want me looking like I just got home from a week long quest."

I laughed and gave him a quick wave before I got to my feet and turned to walk away, "Have fun on your date Jason."

ΩΩΩ

When I got back to the apartment, I had to knock. The door was still locked and I hadn't had time to grab my key before Apollo kicked me out.

When he finally answered the door, it was with a smile, "Hey Perce. How was sparing?"

I walked past him into our apartment. "It was good."

He gave me a smug smirk, "I knew it was a good idea."

I raised one eyebrow. "I thought you said that going to the arena was my idea."

He suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Well... It..."

I laughed and shook my head. Messing with him was fun. "I'm kidding, but seriously. Do I get to know what was going on with you earlier?"

His smile from earlier came back full force. "Indeed you do, but I need you to close your eyes first."

I frowned, "Why?"

The god of the sun rolled his eyes. "Just do it."

I sighed but obeyed his request. I heard him walk around to stand behind me before he put one hand on my shoulder and the other on the small of my back. I felt him leading me away from the door and further into the apartment.

Once we stopped, he let go and took a step backwards. "Okay, now you can open your eyes."

I opened them. It took me a few seconds before my brain registered what I was seeing. On top of Apollo's dresser, was a golden television and DVD player. Judging by the fact it had an omega symbol at the bottom instead of a company name; I had a feeling that it wasn't an ordinary television.

I felt my jaw drop open. "Apollo... Is that..?"

The god of the sun laughed, "Yep. A genuine Hephaestus T.V."

I had to open and close my mouth a couple of times before I could speak. "How in Hades did you get one?"

"I made a deal with him. I gave him the Nemean lion skin and he gave us a T.V."

I was stunned. "You gave away your spoils of war?"

He shrugged. "It didn't just belong to me. It was as much yours as it was mine and I wanted something that you could enjoy too." I shook my head in amazement and turned to properly face the god of the sun. He was already watching me closely, "So... do you like it?"

I blinked in shock before I burst out laughing. "Are you kidding? It's awesome. You really are the best roommate ever."

Apollo's smile dimmed momentarily but before I could ask, it was back full force. He cleared his throat and changed topics. He grabbed a box of movies and handed them to me. "So, which one do you want to watch first?"

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Authors Note

Sorry I'm updating so late today. I had absolutely no motivation to write this week. The only reason I was able to force myself too was because I told all of you I would.

On an unrelated note, what do you think of the sneak peak? ;-)

Next update will be November 1st

Next Chapter:

I bit my lip and looked down at the sleeping god beside me. Before I could talk myself out of it, I leaned down and pressed my lips against his skin...