The Plea of Apollo || COMPLETED

ANIME AND THE BIRDS AND THE BEES

Nico was going to kill Will's sister.

While Nico had been gone on an errand for his father, Will had spent the day watching something called anime with his sibling Kennedy. For some reason, the two went absolutely mad when it came to anime. Since Will was her "adorable little gay brother", she decided to pester him while his boyfriend was away.

What said boyfriend did not expect was for Nico to shadow travel on a pair of emotional children of Apollo.

"What is going on?" He asked with his arms crossed and a cool look falling upon the two currently hugging each other for support.

"Ed just jumped in front of Scar to protect his love!" Will wiped a tear from his eye.

"I'm afraid to ask, but what are you guys watching?"

"Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood..." Kennedy answered, her eyes not meeting his. She played with a strand of her brown hair nervously as if she was trying not to blurt out spoilers.

Nico rolled his eyes just as Will launched into a long-winded explanation as to what the show was about. When he had finally finished, Nico unfazed, Kennedy cleared her throat.

"I think you'd like One Piece."

"What is that?" The two boys asked.

"It's an anime about pirates, which Will told me you liked. It's like of silly, but there's plenty of action and drama. Just be sure to watch the Japanese version; the English dub is nowhere near as good. It's really long though so watching the first arc should be enough to get the feel of the show."

Will looked at Nico hopefully. With a sigh, the son of Hades turned to the girl. "Do you have the DVDs with you?"

She grinned. "Nico, I have everything."

. . .

Never mind being angry at Will's sister. She was a saint compared to their father.

Surprisingly, Nico ended up showing some interest in the world of anime. They watched the opening episodes of One Piece, Blue Exorcist, Death Note, and a few others. Kennedy told Will he could borrow her massive treasure trove of anime DVDs as long as he promised to send them to her via Hermes' express mail as soon as he finished a series. Afterwards the three of them, plus her Hephaestus friend, sat at a table for dinner. The usual people joined them there, but it wasn't long before their peaceful meal was interrupted.

A shimmering form exploded from the flames they made offerings into, appearing on the table a few seconds later looking suspiciously like the sun god.

"Hey!" The god's eyes lit up like a child, his bright teeth blinding those around him as he grinned.

"Dad?" Will questioned. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled warmly. "I wanted to say hi to my daughter while she visited camp. She just got done with a particularly grueling quest and I wanted to say good job."

Kennedy was confused. "You just told me in a dream to visit one of your nearby shrines and plant a bunch of flowers around it. Well, that and compose you a song on your greatness..."

"I know!" He closed his eyes, tilting his head back dramatically as he put a hand to his face in mock pain. "It is so hard to fully express how awesome I am, which is why I thought I should thank you by doing this." With a flick of his finger he pointed it at Logan, whose hair suddenly turned from light brown to bright blond.

Apollo winked. "His hair has gotten darker over the years, but I know you still have a thing for blonds." He grinned while also meeting eyes with Percy, Nico, and Piper.

Through her mortification, Logan told her that his hair was back to the way it had used to be, so it was fine.

"Anyway," the god said as he turned his attention to the son of Hades. "I also stopped by because I had a chat with your father yesterday. He told me, after much pestering, that you haven't been given the birds and the bees talk yet. Since you recently turned fifteen, I think you should get it."

While everyone else at the table was either stifling laughter (like Leo) or mute with embarrassment (like Will), Nico merely stared at Apollo bewildered.

"The birds and the bees? You mean the animal and the insect, right? I know what they are. Does my dad think I'm stupid?"

"Holy Hades," Percy said as he tried to stop shaking from laughter.

"What?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "It's a metaphor, Nico, for where babies come from."

"I know where they come from, Grace." Nico's cheeks turned pink. He turned to Apollo. "You do realize I'm dating your son, correct? Two guys cannot have a child."

Apollo frowned. "Yes you can. All I have to do is work some of my godly powers and either one of you will become pregnant. Why, are you interested?"

Both Will and Nico turned red as lobsters, turning to each other with similar expressions of horror.

"We're fifteen!"

"No way!"

The god shrugged, as if it were no big deal. "Maybe you'll change your mind in the future. A child of the son of Hades and my own amazing genes would be quite the force to reckon with."

Will hid his face in his hands. "Dad, for the love of Olympus, please drop this."

"But we need to talk about safe sex!"

"Dad! Nico is conservative, so we don't need that talk until we're married which won't be for quite a while."

Apollo raised an eyebrow. "Your mother didn't wait until marriage. I barely knew her for a few weeks before she became pregnant with you."

"Apollo," Nico shouted, trying to make him stop talking. Unfortunately, he was an idiot.

Suddenly his brightness was countered with a billowing black presence. Writhed in shadows, as the sun was setting fast, was the lord of the Underworld himself.

"If you ever think about making my son become pregnant," the god hissed as he grabbed Apollo by the scruff of his bright yellow T-shirt. It burned to touch his complete opposite, but it was worth it for the fear written on Apollo's face. "I will cut you up into little pieces and throw you into the depths of Tartarus myself. No offense, Nico."

"What about Annabeth and me?" Percy said with a fake pout.

"No offense to the girl either then, but Percy I couldn't care less if your feelings are hurt."

Apollo chuckled weakly. "Hades, ol' pal, you wouldn't hurt your future son-in-law's father, would you?"

Grinning wickedly, Hades released him and began drifting into the shadows.

"Why wouldn't I?" He asked before cackling ominously. It sent shivers up the spines of those who heard it. "Then I will be the one to walk my son and his boyfriend down the aisle."

Apollo gasped. "And leave me out? You wouldn't dare!"

"I am very sure I would. Do not tempt me, or else I will give you the parting gift of another haircut."

The sun god screeched, vanishing in a bright light just as Hades withdrew into the shadows. Everyone was left staring at the table mutely. Finally, Leo let out a long laugh.

"Your dads are awesome."