"You've taken another lover?" Artemis grinned, as she and her brother walked the forests on the slopes of Mount Olympus.

"I have done no such thing." Apollo replied annoyedly.

Icarus wasn't his lover, not yet anyway. Apollo had barely known him a month, he felt as if he didn't know Icarus well enough to make any kind of judgement yet, but maybe his subconscious was holding him back. Maybe, his subconscious still missed Hyacinthus.

All of Apollo missed Hyacinthus, make no mistake. His heart still reeled at the loss, but his head knew that Hyacinthus' death wasn't his fault but Zephyrus', or rather Zephyrus' jealously, and he also knew that he couldn't wallow in Hyacinthus' shadow forever; he had to move on.

But his heart still hurt. He was still yearning from the loss of Hyacinthus, he was still trying to find his place again, and his head knew that Icarus could help with that, but his heart was saying no. His heart was telling him there would be no one like Hyacinthus, no one would treat him the same way- as if he were a mortal. 

But Icarus was already treating him like that, Icarus already treated him as an equal. But for some reason, he still hesitated.

Apollo loved Icarus, make no mistake. He felt most comfortable in Icarus' company, he felt warm and welcome in Icarus' company; he felt at home with Icarus, he could spend his forever with Icarus, even knowing that Icarus would die and he would not. Maybe, if they spend forever together, he'd make Icarus a god.

'A god of what?' He wondered.

Apollo wasn't sure, maybe he'd make something up for Icarus all on his own. Maybe he'd be the god of companionship, and he'd stay by Apollo's side forever. Then, he'd be happy; hopefully Icarus would be too.

"Who are they?" Artemis asked, as she helped a newborn fawn by her side stay on its' feet. "Royalty? You like royalty. Or, are they a craftsman? Artist? Sculptor? Or maybe even an architect?" She skipped. "You have a thing for creativity."

"I haven't taken a lover, not yet anyway." Apollo rolled his eyes, still with a small grin on his face. "But, he is no such thing. He's not royalty, or an artist, sculptor or architect; he's just a person."

Artemis looked at him shocked. "My goodness, he really must be something special then if he's 'just a person'."

As they walked, they came across a small, withering stream coursing down the mountain, and there they decided to stop. At the banks of the stream, they sat down and dipped their feet in the clear water, as the fawn that had been following Artemis sat beside her. Apollo promptly sighed.

"He is something special." He replied, as he reminisced on his first meeting with Icarus, almost a month ago now. "He treats me as his equal, he honest with me, he doesn't hide behind a false mask of respect. His smile is beautiful, his laugh is music to my ears, he's...he's amazing Artemis. Amazing."

Artemis cocked her head in confusion. "If you speak so fondly of him, then why is he not your lover? If you love him so much."

Apollo sighed and looked to the sky, seeing Helios' chariot pass by through the cracks in the trees.

"It's more complicated than that." He said airily. "It's much more complicated than that."

"If you're scared that you're going to hurt him, you're being ridiculous." She rolled her eyes. "Hyacinthus' death wasn't your fault, you can't let it hold you back."

"Wasn't it?" Apollo spat. "If I hadn't been there, if I didn't get involved, he would've be alive right now. He'd be frolicking and throwing his discus without a care in the world. But I ruined it, like I always do."

"He'd be frolicking and throwing his discus with Zephyrus; how is that any better than being dead?"

Apollo knew Artemis was only saying that to make him feel better, though he couldn't help but laugh.

"I could love him when he was alive." Apollo replied sadly. "I could hug him, I could hold him, I could kiss him, I could promise him the world, even if we both knew I could never deliver it."

"You can still love him Apollo." Artemis smiled, resting her hand on her brother's shoulder. "You can still love him if you've moved on. You can still love this new man as you loved Hyacinthus, you just have to know that they're not the same person, and you can't expect the same things from this new man as you did from Hyacinthus."

"I know, I'm just scared." He fiddled nervously with his fingers. "I love him with all of my being, but I haven't known him very long and I don't want him to get hurt."

"Do you know how he feels?" She asked. "Because if he doesn't care about the risks, because there's risks in any relationship, and if he loves you just as much as you love him, then you can't deny him that. You can't deny him a relationship if he accepts all the costs."

"He does, I know he does, but I just don't know if I accept the costs."

Artemis stood up from her seat on the bank of the stream, and then offered her hand to Apollo. "Go and talk to him, see what he thinks." Artemis said as she pulled Apollo up. "If you're going to be so indecisive about it."

Apollo thought for a second, but eventually nodded. "I'll talk to him about it. Tomorrow night, I'll visit him then."

Artemis nodded, satisfied with the advice she'd given him, because whilst she might not have much relationship experience herself, she knew what her brother needed to hear. And she was also pretty sure that Apollo also knew what he needed to hear too.

She was happy to see him moving on, even if it took a little bit of convincing to get him to do so. As an immortal, forever is a long time to dwell upon the death of someone, and for a while Artemis was truly afraid that Apollo would be stuck wallowing upon Hyacinthus's death forever, but this new man, whoever he was, was drawing him out of his shell. It made her happy to see him like this.

Hopefully, it would last, because if it didn't she was scared she'd loose Apollo forever.

The night was cold, and whilst sat by the window, Icarus could feel himself shivering, but he didn't want to move because he was waiting.

He was waiting for Apollo, who hasn't visited the night before. Icarus wanted to see him, he was yearning for Apollo's company because Apollo made him happy; happy like no other person could.

He wouldn't visit every night, Icarus knew that and Apollo himself had said so, but when he didn't, Icarus felt empty. The night was strangely long and he didn't sleep much; he was hoping Apollo would come, but he didn't. Apollo didn't have an obligation to him, but when he wasn't there, Icarus felt alone.

That was why when Apollo came to him the next night, he was elated.

"Hello Icarus." Apollo said quietly, as he took his seat opposite Icarus on the windowsill. Though this time, unlike the other times, their legs almost immediately intertwined with each other. "Are you okay?"

Icarus smiled. "I'm fine. I missed you last night."

"I'm sorry." Apollo shook his head. "I should've let you know I wouldn't be here."

"No no, you have no obligation to come and see me." He interjected, taking Apollo's hand in his and gently running his fingers across his dark skin. "You're here now, and that's all that matters."

Apollo watched Icarus' fingers as they delicately grazed across his skin. They were warm, gentle and loving. They caressed the back of his hand as if it were the most delicate thing in the world, a marble statue in a world full of glass. It made him wonder why he ever hesitated in loving Icarus. In this moment, right now, Apollo could spend his forever with Icarus, if only he lived forever.

"I want to talk to you." Apollo said, sounding unnaturally nervous. "No, I need to talk to you."

Icarus raised his eyebrows. "What about?" He asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Icarus, this may sound ridiculous, and stupid, and possibly blatantly obvious, but I...I love you. I love your company, I love how you talk, I love how excitable you are; I just love you, okay?"

The worry drained from Icarus' face, to be replaced by a look of overwhelming happiness. "I suppose I should say this, and I can't imagine how many times you've heard it before, but I love you too. Divinity and all."

"I want you to be my lover, I do." Apollo swallows loudly. "But I hesitate. I'm scared that, if I do take you as my lover, you'll get hurt. You might become a target, like how Hyacinthus became a target for Zephyrus after he became my lover. You're so young, you've got so much of your life left, I don't want to take that away."

"If my life is this tower, then I don't care if I become a target." Icarus laughed. "At least then my life will be interesting."

Apollo frowned, unable to think of what to say next. For the first time in his life, he was at a loss for words.

"I accept any risk, whatever they might be; I think the question really is, are you ready? Because, and it might sound crazy, I don't to rush you into anything you aren't ready for." Icarus smiled. "You loved Hyacinthus, I know that, and his death is still an open wound for you, and I will be there to support you, but if you aren't ready to move on yet, I can wait. I want to be happy, and I want you to know I'm not trying to replace him, I never would. I want to be something new, not a replacement."

Suddenly, Apollo felt his face wet with tears, slowing cascading down his cheeks like a  stream.

This was why he loved Icarus. Icarus loved him, Icarus was willing to sit by until Apollo got himself together, Icarus was willing to wait for his heart to heal. No one had ever said that. No one ever before had thought about how he felt, no one before had put his feelings before there's.

So this is what it's like to be in love.

"Icarus."

He smiled. "Apollo."

"I don't deserve you, I really don't deserve you." Apollo said, over and over again, clasping his hand tightly around Icarus' and refusing to let it go.

"You do, you deserve me, the stars and whatever is beyond." Icarus replied. "You deserve everything, it's just you who thinks you don't."

Apollo stayed silent, basking in Icarus' words, because he found more truth in them than he would've liked. He thought he didn't deserve Icarus; he'd ruined so many lives before, he didn't want to ruin this one too. It wouldn't be fair. But this wasn't Apollo's life, he was going to live forever, so why should be get to decide what is fair, when what is fair and what is not wouldn't affect him?

"If I deserve you, the stars and whatever is beyond." Apollo began, meeting Icarus' eyes softly. "Would you let me love you? If you think I deserve to."

"I do think you deserve to." Icarus replied quietly. "And yes, I would love to."