Angel of the Sun (The First Kiss)

Up in Olympus

"YES!YES! And THAT's how you kiss," Apollo erupted into applause, pointing at the frozen image of the demigods in front of them. 

Aphrodite sighed, "I suppose it wasn't all bad."

Apollo laughed to himself. "I knew it! I shipped them from the beginning! Screw Percico and Reynico and Jasico! Solangelo will prevail!" He stopped and stared at Hephaestus who sat, frowning. "Soooo, hey, Hephy? Why don't you give me what you owe me?"

"That," Hephaestus said, rewinding the live feed to when Nico was pinned against the wall and pointing to it, "was just a silly little kiss. I still think that Hades's son will end up with Grace."

Zeus narrowed his eyes at him.

Posseidon scrunched up his face and glanced at Athena while clenching his jaw. "I mean, this is all fine, I guess. Annabeth will have to do."

"Excuse me?" Athena stared at Posseidon with such intensity that if he wasn't immortal, she would have burned a hole through his head. 

Arthemis straightened her back, "I'll have to agree with the dork over there," she bowed her head toward Apollo. "They're good together. And it spares poor Reyna from the Nico boy. I don't know where that ship came from, but it must die."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Apollo said, jumping to his feet. "Someone call Uncle Hades. I want to know what he thinks of this whole thing."

Zeus stared at Apollo. "No. I won't have him coming to Olympus."

Apollo sighed. "Fine. I'll go to him then."

Ares cracked up and arched his eyebrow. "The sun in the underworld. That'll be fun to watch."

***

"Uncle!" Apollo ran to Hades, who sat on his throne, chatting with a zombie-servant next to him. Hades gazed at Apollo and frowned.

"Apollo? What are you doing in the Underworld?" he asked. "If you're looking for Persephone, she's not here. It's summer, in case you haven't noticed."

Apollo shook his head. "That's not why I'm here. I was actually here to talk about your son, Nico."

Hades seemed confused. "Nico? What about him?"

"Oh. Wow. You only have one alive son, I would assume you were more–" the expression in Hades's face made him stop. "Nevermind. Hehe. I think I'm gonna go now. Is that– Yeah, bye."

"No, no," Hades said, shaking his head. "Why are you here?"

Apollo played with the hem of his t-shirt as he stared into Hades's cold eyes. The sun god didn't know why his uncle made him so nervous. "Um... So, like, Nico and Will–"

"Who's Will?" Hades frowned. "Is that the animal guy? I thought his name was Francis."

Apollo looked offended, "No! That's Frank. Ares's kid. Will's–"

"Oh, he's the fire guy then. I remember now." 

"No. That's the guy who gave me the Valdenizator. Theo."

Hades sighed and leaned back against his throne. "Apollo, I, for one, have more to do with my time than exploiting those poor demigods' lives. Now, if you'll excuse me–"

Apollo threw up his hands, exasperated. "But I need to talk to you!"

Hades rolled his eyes. "Go on."

"As I was saying, Will and Nico–"

"You never told me who this Will guy was," Hades stopped for a few seconds, pensive. Then, his eyes lit up. "Is he that satyr? The one married to the cloud nymph? Melissa or whatever?"

 Apollo squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth. "You seriously don't know who Will is? Will Solace?"

"Solace... No idea."

"The healer at Camp Half-Blood?" Hades still looked confused. "You know... the blue-eyed guy? Surfer-ish vibe? Ravishing golden hair just like his dad's? Head of Cabin 7? " 

"Ah. So, he's one of yours. What about him? And what does Nico have to do with him?"

"Nico and Will, in the, like, past fifteen minutes have been... How do I put this? They have become more than friends," Apollo winked. 

To his surprise, Hades's face split into a wide smile. "You mean Nico's over Percy?"

"I guess? He said Percy wasn't his type."

Hades jumped out of his throne and lunged toward Apollo. "You better not be lying to me."

"I'm not."

"This might be the best day of my immortal life," Hades said. 

Apollo frowned. "Why? The Jackson kid doesn't seem too bad."

Hades snorted indignantly. "You say that because you haven't had to hear about him every single day. Percy thinks this, Percy likes that, Percy hates this, Percy said that. It drove me insane."

"Okay... So, you're okay with Will and Nico being together? I went down here to ask what you thought about it."

"Are you kidding me, Apollo? I am positively thrilled. This is my thrilled face." Apollo decided not to mention that Hades's manic smile made him look like he had run-away from a madhouse. "Now you know my reaction, you can go now. Goodbye. And, please, Apollo, get a hobby that isn't spying on our children, please. I recently learned crochet. I could teach you if you want."

"Um... No, thanks, Uncle Hades. Bye now."

Apollo snapped his fingers, plopping down on his chair in Olympus. Ares smirked. "How did it go?"

Apollo ignored him, turning to Athena. "What do you think of crochet?"

Athena scowled. "Why are you asking?"

"No reason."

Arthemis straightened her back and glanced at Apollo. "Father wants to speak to you. "

Apollo's face immediately fell. "About what?" 

"I don't know. It seemed... serious. You know he's angry. I fear you can't put off this talk any longer. I hope he doesn't skin you alive."

"But–" Apollo began.

"I have to get back to my Hunters. See you later."

Apollo gulped. Later, he found himself speaking to Zeus, heard his father utter the words, "YOUR FAULT, YOUR PUNISHMENT" before he found himself on the streets of Manhattan as Lester Papadopoulos.