𝑃𝐻𝑂𝐸𝐵𝑈𝑆. (𝑂𝑓 𝐺𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠)

eight - then

Then.

On days where Persephone was hanging out in the Underworld and Aphrodite was most likely off meddling in human love affairs, Adoria made it a habit to enjoy her time alone. She found herself strolling through town, lounging in Persephone's garden while the goddess was away, walking across the beaches near the port her father worked for, and simply enjoying the peacefulness.

On that particular day, Adoria walked along a more secluded part of the beach, farther than she usually went but not too far that she couldn't easily make her way back home within the hour. The sun had risen only a couple of hours before and as Adoria stared out at it she was reminded of a certain god and his confession of adoration in the form of poetry. Adoria was flattered, who wouldn't be when a millennium old god was writing about how beautiful you were? But she couldn't help the fleeting idea that ran rampant through her mind that maybe, most likely, she was a passing interest.

Adoria couldn't be any more wrong.

From a couple hundred feet away, Apollo stood with his hands together, one of them twisting and turning the ring he wore on his right pinky finger, one in the shape of a crescent moon which represented his sister. Despite their differences, she was his twin and he loved her more than anything. She would laugh at him if she could see him now. Apollo was rarely nervous. He was a god that often emanated confidence, but the next few moments held so much variability that he was sure his heart was going to collapse into his stomach.

The mortal that held so much of his devotion walked along the shoreline, the wind flowing through her hair. He had thought up so many different conversation starters before this, and yet the moment he saw her he forgot every single one of them. A calmness fell over him as he felt the sun's warmth intensify just a bit and the sound of the waves crashing fell upon his ears. His feet, and heart, subconsciously carried him forward.

As the sun god made his way closer to the young girl he saw her attention turn from the ocean and up into the sky. Squinting at the harsh light, Adoria stared as best she could as the sun made its way across the sky. Eventually her eyes closed and she let the heat wash over her with blissful content. Apollo watched her soak in the rays of the sun above and with the twitch of his fingers the sun burned just a bit brighter. The smile that lit up the girl's face was all the satisfaction the god needed. She was humming a tune, a song he was unfamiliar with, something that caught the god off guard. It almost pained him to interrupt her beautiful melody.

Her eyes didn't open and therefore she did not notice as Apollo approached and stood not three feet away from her. Not until he spoke of course. "Let me know if it gets too hot, I can bring it down just a bit for you."

Adoria's eyes shot wide open and she looked just a bit embarrassed at having been caught lost in her own head. "I'm sorry?" She asked, not because she didn't understand his remark but because she'd been paying more attention to his face than his words.

"The sun..." Apollo cleared his throat, "if it becomes too much I would be happy to drop....the temperature." He stuttered over his words, feeling slightly stupid. He shouldn't assume she would automatically remember him, regardless of what Aphrodite had told him; the goddess was known for bending the truth at times.

But Adoria did recognize him, almost immediately in fact. "I'm quite fine actually. Hello again, I guess."

"Hello," was all Apollo could think to say.

"Do..." Adoria stuttered over her thoughts, trying to form them into actual words, "do you...come here a lot? I've never seen you here before so..."

To any onlookers or bystanders, the two probably looked like strangers. They were standing a good distance away from one another and did not look very invested in conversation. Just acquaintances perhaps, maybe friends in passing.