The Fall of Icarus (Book 1 in the Apollo series)

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Icarus hadn't seen much of his father in the few days since he'd banished him to his workshop upstairs.

He had most certainly heard him, through crashing and banging and hammering and tinkering, but he hadn't actually seen much of him. He had purposefully made himself scarce since Icarus' outburst, likely because Icarus had managed to create a feeling of guilt within him, that he'd endangered his son's life, potentially for nothing.

However, Icarus now seemed to carry a feeling of guilt as well. He'd begun to think that maybe his father had made a innocent mistake, that he truly was only trying to find a way for them to escape. If that was the case, then he really was only trying his best for Icarus, he wanted to save him from an inevitable fate.

"You should talk to your father." Apollo told him, as they stood ankle-deep in the midnight ocean. "He feels awful for what he's done, and I know you feel awful about what you said to him too."

Icarus sighed, watching the water run around his ankles. "I know I should talk to him, but I don't know if I'm ready to." He sighed. "I don't know if I'm ready to admit that I was wrong."

"I don't have a good relationship with my father." Apollo began, before taking Icarus' hand. "I don't know how happy he'll be that you this but the great mighty Zeus, king of the gods, is a shit father. He doesn't much care for his children, his family as a whole, nor the lovers he leaves behind; I've always wanted and wished for a father that cared more for me than Zeus ever did or has." He looked to their reflection in the water. "You father is the sort of father I wish I had. He cares for you and he's trying his best, and I don't want you to loose that. Obviously I can't force you to talk to him, I just hope that you will because you have a father who loves you, and I'd hate for you to loose that."

Icarus turned to look Apollo in the eye.

He'd never studied the colour of Apollo's eyes before, but looking so deeply into them now he could see that they were sea green; a deep blue mingling into enveloping, rich green towards the pupil. When the light of moon caught them just right, they seemed to glimmer like the jewels he was adorned in the night they first met. They were soft, warm and welcoming; they were place he wanted to be, they were the home he always wanted, they belonged to the man he was willing to spend his forever with, however long that was.

"I'm sorry." Icarus said quietly, resting his head on Apollo's chest.

Apollo almost laughed. "What are you saying sorry for?"

"I didn't know Zeus was so...frivolous. I feel bad that you didn't have a loving family."

"Oh, I have a loving family. My mother and Artemis are wonderful, I just don't have a loving father." He explained. "Zeus isn't the sort of person you want your children to look up to, I never did. I always liked Hades more, he was kind, a good parent and good husband. I've never seen much of him, but I always relish in the time we spend together."

"You like Hades the most?" Icarus questioned. "Most mortals are afraid of even saying his name."

"Mortals are scared of Hades because they are scared of death, they're scared of the eternal end. Hades is the kindest, most forgiving and open-armed god there is because his job is to see mortals at their worst, to judge them when they have lost everything. He isn't soft make no mistake, he can be unforgiving when he wishes to be, but he is reasonable. If you are to be afraid of anyone, be afraid of Persephone; she took to her role as the Queen of the Underworld better than anyone thought."

Icarus smiled. "I'll talk to my father tomorrow. Maybe I was unreasonable, maybe I was wrong."

Apollo nodded and softly ran his fingers across Icarus' knuckles. "Good." He replied.