Epilogue

"No, no, no!" Loki shouted, waving his arms over his head and doing a weird sort of dance. "That doesn't sound right! It needs to be more – bouncy."

"Oh, more bouncy!" Apollo exclaimed sarcastically. "If you're going to help me write, you need to be more clear."

Hermes laughed.

The three gods were in Apollo's living room. Apollo was balancing his guitar on his lap, and Loki was standing in front of him. Hermes was curled up in an armchair, watching his friend and lover. Apollo had grudgingly allowed Loki to help him compose new songs.

"Try this – " Loki snatched the guitar away from Apollo and sat on an ottoman. "Ba da da, ba da da…"

Hermes didn't think Apollo was listening. The blonde was glaring at Loki, murder written across his face.

"I think it sounds nice," a random voice chimed. Craning his neck around, Hermes spotted Dionysus standing behind Apollo's bar, pouring himself a glass of wine.

"You'd better not drink all of that," Apollo threatened his youngest brother. "That was a gift from Artemis."

"Oh, don't worry about it," another voice said. Artemis had appeared and was now sitting on a stool. "I have about twelve more bottles at home."

"What are you doing -?" Apollo began to ask, but someone cut him off. "Artemis, there you are!" boomed Zeus. "Hera's been looking for you, child."

"She's hardly a child anymore," grumped Hera, appearing by Zeus's elbow.

Loki, Apollo, and Hermes all stared at the four gods who had just popped into existence. Then…

"Where'd everybody go?" Ares's voice asked. He had appeared in the middle of the living room, and paused to take a look around. "What are you guys doing here? Isn't this Apollo's house?"

Before anyone could answer, there was a flash of light and Demeter appeared, Persephone alongside her. "Hi, all!" Demeter said cheerfully. "Zeus, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." Then she took notice of the crowd that had gathered in the living room. "It's kind of crowded in here, isn't it?"

"So crowded it actually makes the room look smaller," Apollo muttered.

"Oh, don't be so gloomy! It isn't good for your complexion." That was Athena's voice. Apollo groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"It really isn't," Aphrodite's voice agreed. "Oh, hi, Loki! Are you going to play us a song?"

Apollo glanced up and saw that Loki was grinning from ear to ear (which was never a good sign).

"Sure!" the Norse trickster said. "This is a song I heard Apollo singing the other day…I thought it was really great."

He strummed the guitar and began to sing, "I'm so addicted to all the things you do when you're going down on me in between the sheets…"

"Give me that!" Apollo cried out, snatching the guitar away from Loki. The trickster cackled.

Now that he was holding the guitar, his family members were looking at him expectantly. Apollo made a face. "Well," he asked. "What do you want me to sing?"

"Sing something for Ares!" Hermes piped up. The messenger still felt terrible for leaving the war god in favor of Apollo.

Apollo scowled. He and Ares had never gotten along very well – especially when the latter had dared to express affection for his Hermes. But he grudgingly sat down, adjusted the guitar, and began to play. It was the only song he could think of that suited Ares.

"Out on the front line, don't worry, I'll be fine, the story is just beginning—I say good-bye to my weakness, so long to the regret, and now I know that I'm alive…

Damn, damn it all down, took one to the chest without even a sound - so what, what are you worth, the things you love or the people you hurt?"

"A fist-first philosophy," Athena snorted. "That describes Ares perfectly."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Ares rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to argue, but Hermes quickly said, "Play another one, Apollo!'

And so that was how the council spent the afternoon – listening to Apollo sing and play guitar. His voice was so beautiful that they never grew tired of it.

After a couple of hours had passed, Apollo put the guitar down and grimaced. "My fingers hurt."

Hermes smiled and reached forward, picking up the discarded instrument. Everyone looked at him with raised eyebrows. Though he was credited with inventing the lyre, the messenger was hardly ever heard singing or playing music.

He ignored the looks his family members were giving him, and instead gazed at Apollo. His emerald eyes were dancing. When he began to sing, Apollo smiled softly. They both loved this song. Hermes' voice was slightly higher than Apollo's, but had a sweetness to it that made everyone smile.

"I don't know how you do what you do…I'm so in love with you…I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side…

The smell of your skin, the taste of your kiss, the way you whisper in the dark…your hair all around me—"

At that line, the entire room erupted with laughter. Hermes and Apollo smiled at each other. Everyone knew that Hermes – despite his constant grumbling that Apollo needed a haircut – loved the archer's golden locks.

"You two are so adorable," Aphrodite sighed. Athena and Artemis nodded in agreement.

Ares snorted, shaking his head. "Women …" he said. "Calling two powerful gods adorable…"

"There isn't any other word to describe it," Athena countered.

"Must you argue about everything?" Zeus groaned, referring to Athena and Ares's never-ending dispute.

Ares and Athena both rounded on their father, and soon the entire pantheon was engaged in a heated argument. Hermes and Apollo turned to face each other.

"Let's get out of here," Hermes whispered. Apollo smiled and took his lover's hand. Hermes took flight, not knowing exactly where he planned to go. But it didn't matter.

The only thing that mattered was the god that was by his side.

Song #1: Addicted by Saving Abel

Song #2: Diamond Eyes by Shinedown

Song #3: Amazed by Lonestar