The Plea of Apollo || COMPLETED

APHRODITE TAKES CHARGE

Nico was not surprised that Aphrodite had put herself in charge of Percy and Annabeth's wedding. No one was shocked, actually, although Piper was a bit annoyed. Her mother always ended up pushing herself into other people's business. She was the goddess of love after all. However, neither Percy nor Annabeth were too bothered by her involvement. She had offered to buy (more like make) the entire wedding party their outfits for the event, which saved everyone else a lot of time and money. Percy was broke after spending a year's worth of pay from the part time job he got as a lifeguard in New Rome anyway, so Aphrodite's presence was fully appreciated.

On the other hand, the son of Hades changed his opinion of the goddess slightly when he found himself in a massive bridal shop somewhere in New York, the only other guy around him being his boyfriend. Piper was right; she was kind of annoying.

"What is going on?" He asked confusedly as he turned to see Annabeth and the rest of the bridesmaids also blinking in confusion.

Annabeth's hands were poised in the air like she had been typing, Reyna's arms were in position as if she had been in the middle of a swordfight, and Rachel was wearing sweats and yawning. Hazel was standing there staring at herself wondering if she had somehow shadow traveled unknowingly. Piper merely sighed, as if this was a regular occurrence. She turned to Will and Calypso, who were both glancing around the magnificent shop more curiously than anything else.

"Sorry about this, everyone. My mom sometimes gets in these excited moods and kidnaps people so she can either talk about the latest fashion discovery or use you as a guinea pig."

"Guinea pigs? I prefer the term models."

All of a sudden, Aphrodite appeared from around a corner wearing a long light blue dress. Her hair was blond and flowing today, her eyes constantly switching colors as she gave her daughter a tired look. "Really, Piper, is that any way to about your mother when she is about to help your friend get the most beautiful dress she will ever wear? You should be happy you have such a kind, caring mother to do nice things like this for you. If only you cared more about fashion," she sighed dramatically, glancing away forlornly.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Thank you, mother. Why are they here though?" She gestured to Nico and Will. "No offense, guys."

"None taken," Nico said. "I don't really get why we're here either. Shouldn't we not be here while Annabeth is getting her dress? Besides, I thought we were getting tuxes with the other groomsmen."

The goddess of love grinned, practically floating over to the son of Hades before grabbing his face in both hands. Nico's eyes widened as she looked him over, eyes meeting his with such seriousness before glancing at Will that Nico didn't dare move.

"I wanted to meet you in person," she explained as she took her hands away and smiled gently at him. "I heard about your confrontation with Cupid, or perhaps my underling's Greek form, Eros, and have been waiting to congratulate you for facing him. I know he can be a bit harsh."

Nico had to hold back a laugh. That jerk had shot hate arrows at him; harsh didn't even begin to describe him.

"You were just so brave that I had to help you find true love as soon as I heard!" She continued excitedly. "However, it seems Will here was already crushing on you before I came into the picture. Less work for me though. And I see you're happy with how things turned out, am I right?"

Nico blushed despite himself, Will shifting under the goddesses' attention as well.

"Yes," he finally managed to answer. "I'm very happy, so thank you."

"Me too!" Will added, slipping his hand into Nico's.

Aphrodite looked like she was about to burst out of pure joy. "Oh, you two did almost all of the work! You two are just too perfect together." She fluttered her eyes as if she was envisioning them walking down the aisle together. "Your level of beauty even rivals Percy and Annabeth's, as well as my own daughter's relationship. To think a son of Hades and Apollo would end up working out so wonderfully. It's so adorable!"