Pandemonium

The Avengers had found out a lot about Percy that night.

They scanned his files incessantly and tried to come up with explanations to match what they knew of him with how he had been presented in the events recorded by the police and the press. He looked nothing like his mother, so they assumed he took after his father, who was apparently, unknown.

A lot of his friends came from families with absentee parents. Some of them had gone missing in various phases of their lives, much like Percy, while some never seemed to have existed on paper. But they couldn't do much with the information they had gotten. They tried to find patterns, some clues, but came up with nothing.

Tony was beyond frustrated by the time it was half past nine and he hadn't gotten anywhere with the information. Natasha was frustrated too, but she did a good job of not showing it. Steve was mostly confused and concerned. Clint looked skeptical, didn't seem to be very much interested in the investigation, but gave the odd comment to try and lighten the mood.

But Bruce had been against the plan from the beginning and he still felt extremely guilty for betraying his friend's confidence. He hadn't known Percy for very long, but he had only ever been kind and understanding and a very smart and supportive friend. He didn't deserve such scrutiny over some incidents from his past.

"Nobody found any connection of his to Apollo?" Clint asked, lounging on a sofa with a bowl of grapes on his stomach.

"Nothing, except some videos from when they argued at the campus the other day." Tony replied, spinning in his chair before numerous holographic screens that were processing and projecting all information relevant to the topic.

"Apollo is his stage name right? What's his real name?" Natasha asked.

Friday ran some searches on the database. He had never mentioned his real name but there were a lot of speculations and the most popular one seemed to be a tweet by Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the rebellious daughter of Robert Dare and a famous connoisseur of arts and a renowned climate change and human rights activist.

Her tweet said:
"He's never gonna admit it, and he has done everything in his capacity to erase all sources that can reveal this information, but I've decided to share my sacred knowledge with the world and bless mankind with the real name of Apollo.
It is..........*drum roll*
✨Lester Papadopoulos ✨"

"PS: If I'm dead tomorrow. Yk who to suspect;)"

The tweet had over a million comments. But what was noticeable was that both Percy and Apollo had liked her tweet. In fact, they were both following her. A link connecting them.

They sorted through Rachel Dare's social media accounts and saw that they had a lot of mutual friends between Apollo and Percy. On the rare occasions that she posted pictures, they often made an appearance.

A very old selfie with Percy in a cowboy hat and Apollo in a red wig with Rachel dressed as a pirate. Piper McLean in a peach costume and a couple more boys and girls in the background, most of them barely discernible in the dim lighting of the photograph. They were all smiling.

She had a picture of Percy cooking pasta, Apollo doing an unsupported headstand, and a couple more cute and funny pictures with very familiar faces from when they had been researching Percy's files. Almost all of the people in her pictures were acquainted with Percy and Apollo and had been spotted in various occasions all over the world in their teenage years, near sites of suspected terrorist activities.

Tony had hoped that a connection would help them make more sense of things, but it had only confused them further.

Rachel Dare was the only one among them to have a public social media account. All the others, including Percy and Apollo had private accounts. Even with Apollo being a celebrity, he had refused to share his personal life with anyone but his closest friends and apparently that included Percy Jackson, Rachel Dare, and a number of other kids who had been suspects of terrorism.

Tony had no idea how nobody had found out all of this. But then again, it had taken The Avengers and Stark's endless resources more than a couple of hours to get the barest minimum of information on them all.

Soon though, their research was interrupted by another breaking news.

Sally Blofis had returned home safely. Apparently, the author had stated that she had been held hostage, and then was rescued by Daredevil, the vigilante of Hell's Kitchen, who had then helped her contact her family and made sure she reached home safely. She refused to say anything more.

Steve was the one who spoke up this time, "She didn't say why they took her." He simply stated.

It was implied that whatever they had wanted with her, she wanted nobody to know.

-

Apollo doesn't know how long he and Percy had stood before the warehouse, hands clasped tight, watching with dread as they realised the implications of this incident.

"Do you know why they took her?" Apollo asked, still shocked still, looking at the enchantments surrounding the building before him.

"I haven't asked yet." Percy said. He too was looking at the building. "I didn't think I wanted to know."

This time, Apollo turned to him and reached out to catch Percy's other hand in his.

"You're instincts are never wrong, Percy." He said, voice soft and soothing. "But whatever happens, we'll figure it out."

Percy smiled at him. The first genuine smile he'd gotten from him since their wedding.

-

Percy watched, full of guilt, as Apollo kindly grabbed his hand and soothed him, effortlessly.

He had only ever scorned Apollo's attempts at being kind to him, mistaking it for either pity, pathetic attempts at flirting or a game to seduce him. Percy knew, deep down that he had been unfair to Apollo, when he had been oh so loyal to Percy.

Nearly 10 years ago, Percy had ascended. Nobody was surprised. Nobody but Percy. Apollo had been there beside him then, comforting him as he mourned his mortality. They had struck up a tentative friendship back then. It was fragile. Delicate like a fine tea cup.

One that had shattered to a million pieces.

While Apollo and his family under the sea had been constant pillars of support and reassurance, more than a few members on the council had turned vary of him. His domains were many. Loyalty, Heroes, Demigods, Storms, Earth, Poisons. They still sensed many more that he would eventually gain.

They watched as he nurtured heroes from afar, guiding them to the right path whenever possible. They watched as storms came and went, bringing no destruction. They watched as the Earth shifted under his feet, caressing his steps and listening to his every whim. They watched poisons find sinners in more ways than one, burning them, stinging, encroaching into their body, torturing them to death, based solely on the mercy that Percy thought they deserved.

Percy had only just started accepting his new reality, started embracing his new role.

But that changed when 5 years ago, in the midst of the summer solstice council meeting, Mount Olympus had shaken and shifted beneath their feet. The throne room had been occupied by the Olympians, other major and minor gods, demigods, satyrs, and nymphs. The demigods had been accompanied by their patron god and the council had watched him in varying degrees or awe, shock, and pride as a throne materialised between Poseidon and Apollo and Percy grew to the height of the Olympians. He was exuding an aura so powerful that the assembled demigods, minor gods and nymphs had fallen to their knees before his towering form.

Percy had become an Olympian.

He had never hated the Fates more than then, or so he thought.

At least half the council had been outraged at what had transpired. Even Percy was far from happy with the developments. He had barely managed to get the demigods to call him Percy after his ascension. But as an Olympian, he had invariably become Lord Perseus to all but his close friends.

The months that passed had been one of the worst phases of his life so far. Lots of emergency council meeting, all of them ending in how unbalanced the council had become. How Zeus feared that Poseidon would stage another rebellion now with his son at his side. Hera, Athena, and Ares extended their full support to Zeus. Apollo, Hermes, Artemis, Demeter and Hephaestus had maintained a neutral stance to avoid escalating the situation. While Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hestia and Hades had all taken to opposing Zeus.

The weather had gone crazy. Thunder and Lightening raged through the skies of New York. It didn't help that earthquakes and rainstorms had increased too. Things only escalated again, when Poseidon, in his pride had announced Percy to be Second in line to the Throne of Atlantis.

Surprisingly though, Percy had found some comfort in the underwater family. Triton and Amphitrite had, albeit slowly, warmed up to him. Rhode and Kymopoleia visited on occasion and he had developed quite the bond with all of them. It was only Poseidon that Percy was still mad at.

What happened after that though, was all Hera's doing. Percy suspected that even Aphrodite had a hand in it, but he wasn't so sure.

Somehow, the ascension to the thrones had become a topic of interest in the council meetings. So much so that Zeus saw an even more grim view of the situation than was warranted. A full-fledged war was on the horizon, he believed.

Hera had then gone on to propose a truce of sorts. A win-win situation, she had claimed. A political marriage. A marriage between Percy and Apollo. Apollo was First in Zeus's line of succession. This marriage, she claimed, would settle the dispute as it would even out the power imbalance. It would secure Percy's loyalty to Olympus and also ensure that he had a position of considerable power in the event of succession, where he would then take Hera's place.

The proposal had brought pause in the meeting. Zeus and Poseidon had decided to stop the meeting then and there. Retiring to private rooms in the palace, to weigh their options.

The rest of the council had sorted out into groups and occupied the gardens of Olympus to discuss the same.

Apollo hadn't uttered a word. His expression unreadable the whole time.

Percy though, hadn't stayed. He flashed to the North Pole, taking his mounting rage and frustration with him, causing utter destruction in his wake.

Kymopoleia had been the first one to approach him. She'd had to go through a similar situation after all. It was a given that Poseidon would accept the offer. They didn't care for their children's wishes when it came to matters of power and influence. Within hours, a deal had been struck, without permission from either Percy or Apollo.

Percy and Kymopoleia spent days causing havoc in the poles. Rhode comforted him. Triton and Amphitrite fought against the proposal too, telling Poseidon how much better it would be if they chose an Atlantian suitor for Percy instead.

In the end though, the Kings had decided. It had been the biggest event of the Millennium on Olympus. The wedding was all anyone could talk about for months. Percy had been met with pity from most of the gods he knew. Persephone, Kymopoleia, and Hestia had been unexpected allies who gave him some respite among his godly associates.

Ares and Athena couldn't have cared less for it. Artemis and Hermes stuck by Apollo's side. Percy hadn't known what Apollo thought of the situation. They had been friends before. Good friends, Percy thought. But Percy couldn't bring himself to even look at Apollo, not since their marriage had been fixed.

The ceremony was grand. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. The whole of Mount Olympus had been decorated in Gold and Jewels. Beautiful flowers adorned the passageways. The Palace itself had been decorated opulently.

Percy only remembered whisps of the ceremony. He had floated around on his wedding day, hating what had become of his life. He had been mechanical in his actions and spoke only when spoken to.

After the ceremony, they had both been taken to Apollo's palace on Olympus. It had been redecorated to accomodate Percy and give him his own wing in the building.

That night, Percy hadn't slept. In an unknown palace, under the designs of an unknown person, he was now a married man. They had separate rooms in the palace and hadn't so much as looked at each other when they went to their rooms.

Months had passed as they both isolated themselves.

Apollo was the first one to come out of isolation. A comeback in the music industry after a year long break. He wrote very few new songs, but conducted several world tours, probably breaking all existing records.

Poseidon, meanwhile, had finished constructing a residence for Percy in Atlantis. His half siblings managed to convince him to some stay with them for sometime. Percy was still furious at Poseidon, but knew that he couldn't isolate himself forever.

Soon, his half siblings managed to get him out of his shell, they encouraged him to go out into the world again and engage himself in something. He studied and studied and studied. Got himself a PhD. He organised the most powerful demigods of the century into a team. Immersed himself in the functioning of the demigod camps. Blessed mortals who then took up mantels of heroism. His domains flourished as he concentrated all his attention on them.

But deep down he could sense the shift in himself. Whenever he was unoccupied, he felt it, the presence of Apollo's conscious in his heart. Telling him of his moods. And Apollo was clearly depressed.

-

About two years ago, they met again, at a roadside diner.

Apollo had seen Percy sitting alone at a table, quietly munching on a cheeseburger, and sat opposite him.

They didn't speak, but it was the start of something.

They met on occasion, most of the time, when Apollo visited the Blofis residence. He hadn't stopped visiting since the Lester fiasco.

They maintained their distance even then.

But Apollo had been trying for nearly a year now to become his friend again. Percy knew he was being too harsh on him, but he just couldn't bring himself to believe that Apollo meant well. He convinced himself that it was because Apollo probably pitied him, wanted to get in his pants, or was doing it to amuse himself.

His friends and family had all tried to get him to reciprocate Apollo's efforts. But to no vain. He had constantly argued with the other God. Never accepting anything he offered. Never believing anything he said. Every attempt of conversation by Apollo, Percy had turned into an argument.

And the worst part of it, was that Percy had always liked Apollo. Even when they had been friends, he'd caught himself admiring the God. But Percy was a stubborn boy, and because of it, he had ruined 5 years of both of their lives.

For a god of Loyalty, Percy had failed to see that Apollo had been the most loyal to him. The loyalty he could sense from Apollo had surpassed all the other Olympians, even Poseidon. And yet, Percy had considered it a trick of fate. How painfully stupid Percy had been. He had never been so ashamed of himself.

-

Apollo sensed where Percy's mind had taken him.

He couldn't say he was happy with how the past years had turned out. What had been done to them had been beyond unfair. But Apollo could only think that maybe if he'd approached Percy a little bit earlier. Maybe tried to connect with him and tell him that everything would be ok, they would at least have been friends now.

He watched, transfixed by the depth of Percy's sea green eyes as they shifted like storms, echoing his tumultuous thoughts. Percy was so beautiful, so kind, so strong and powerful and the most wonderful person he had ever known, Apollo knew he was extremely lucky to have this man.

Just as Percy's eyes seemed to bring him back to the present, Apollo saw something shift in them. A reminder of how they had once been. A ray of hope for his aching heart.

"I'm sorry." Percy said, and it rang true in Apollo's mind. As the god of truth, he rarely came across truths that transcended more than one emotion or instance, but this statement here, had knocked the wind out of him.

He could sense it in his domains and in his heart. The sincerity with which those words had been said.

Percy's eyes shone with tears. He had retained so many of his human characteristics even after ascending. Apollo smiled at him, and wiped at his wet cheeks.

"Come with me." Apollo said. "Let's get you home."

And for the first time in five years, Percy didn't protest.