Artemis' POV
"Now that we're all here..." My dad paused to glance at Hades. "...and we are relatively calm, let's continue with our game. Artemis?"
It was an indication for my to begin my turn. I nodding in understanding.
"Alright, but first I would like to allow Hebe to go." I said.
"Hebe?!" Hermes and Ares said in unison.
"Yes, she hasn't gotten to go yet because the first time she wasn't part of the game and the second time she wasn't even present." I explained. Hebe squealed in excitement.
"You mean I get to go?" Hebe asked. I nodded. She squealed some more.
"Oh my goodness, Artemis you are the bestest goddess EVER!" Hebe shouted with enthusiasm. I grinned smugly.
"Yes, I know." I replied. Apollo frowned.
"What about me?" Apollo asked indignantly.
"Oh! Uh... you're pretty cool too. Not as cool as Artemis though!" Hebe said. I smiled with satisfaction. Oh Hebe, if only you had been my twin instead...
"Athena, truth or dare?" Hebe asked, practically jumping out of her seat. Athena quirked an eyebrow.
"Truth I suppose." Athena replied nonchalantly.
"Boring," muttered Ares. Athena's eyes flashed in anger.
"You're one to talk. Last time I checked, rainbow ponies were what you considered cool." Athena retorted. Ares scowled.
"She's not a rainbow pony, she's a rainbow Pegasus. Get it right!" Ares snapped back at her. Athena simply leaned back in her chair and gave him a smug look.
"My point has been made."
Zeus sighed. "Well, now that it's been made, can we just get on with the game?"
"Sure." Athena shrugged. There was no need to continue the argument, Athena knew she had won.
"Okay, so is it true that you have a crush on Batman?" Hebe asked. As Athena's cheeks flushed and various gods began to giggle, Hebe hastily continued. "Because Ares says that you think he is the best fictional guy ever and that sometimes you are secretly reading a Batman comic book behind your educational books—"
"Okay, that's enough." Athena interrupted, her face beat red. By now, several gods had busted out laughing.
"Athena," Zeus said with a light smirk on his face. "I didn't know this about you."
Hermes leaned forward in his seat and placed his elbows on the table and propped his head on his hands.
"Tell us Athena, what's so sexy about him?" Hermes asked with a mischievous smile on his face.
"W-well, he's... highly intelligent, a wonderful tactician and a great fighter—"
Aphrodite snorted. "Should've known that's the only thing you care about. How about him being rich and handsome?"
"Those are bonuses." Athena replied. Apollo rolled his eyes.
"Man, Athena. You're so lame!" Apollo said. I shook my head and sighed.
"Honestly Athena, I expected more from you. A crush on a male comic book character, seriously?" I said. Athena gave me a dangerous glare.
"How about we all continue the game?" Athena asked in a steely cold voice. By the sound of her tone, we could all tell she wasn't going to put up with this for too much longer.
"Alright, alright." I relented. I looked at my brother and grinned. "Oh, Apooooollooo..."
"Huh, what is it?" He glanced around nervously.
"Truth or Dare?" I asked. As soon as he realized what I had asked, he began to debate what option to choose inside his head again.
Hera groaned. "Not again..."
Zeus began to play Angry Birds on his phone, already deciding that Apollo probably wasn't going to pick anytime soon. Hmm, maybe he had the right idea.
"Dare." I heard although it wasn't from Apollo. Athena had said it. Apollo gave her an odd look.
"But it's not your tur—"
"Since you couldn't decide fast enough, I decided for you." Athena replied, leaning back in her seat. She had this rather annoyed look on her face that dad always had when he was in a bad mood.
"Can she do that?" Hebe whispered to Aphrodite. Aphrodite shrugged.
"I don't have a rule against it." She whispered back. Then she announced, "Fine! I'll allow it but just this once."
"Okay... I guess I pick dare." Apollo said with uncertainty. A felt my smile widen. It seems I'll finally be able to make him complete the other dare.
"I dare you to admit I'm oldest!" I shouted triumphantly. Oh, the look on his face was priceless. His jaw dropped and I could literally see his mind go blank. Wait... that would imply that he had something in his brain to begin with. The rest of our family had stiffened in their seats as if they were waiting for a bomb to go off.
"..." Apollo didn't say anything and his shell-shocked look didn't leave.
"I'm waaaatiiing." I sang. Finally, he closed his mouth and gulped.
"Y-you want me to a-admit you're older...?" Apollo asked carefully, stuttering a bit.
"Uh-huh."
Apollo made a little squeaking noise and shrank down in his seat. His hands gripped the edge of his chair's arms in a firm grasp, turning his knuckles white. The rest of the gods surveyed him with a variety of reactions. Ares had a grin plastered on his face and I could see the spark of viciousness in his fire eyes. Hephaestus was stroking his beard, observing us as if we were an invention that didn't go quite like he expected.
Zeus and Athena had very similar expressions towards the situation: Intense, disapproving and slightly dethatched in a very business like matter. Unlike Athena though, Zeus had placed his elbows on the table and had wringed his hands. He had also pressed his clasped hands to his mouth so I couldn't tell if he was frowning or not, although I imagined he was.
"Fine. You win," Apollo muttered. He sounded absolutely defeated. I would have felt bad for him but I was too happy at that moment. After thousands of years, Apollo was finally going to admit to everyone what we already knew.
"Well..." I prompted. His head snapped up and he suddenly looked very angry.
"I'm only doing this because I love you." Apollo said with hostility in his voice.
"Just get on with it." I groaned in exasperation. "I've already waited over two thousand years."
He sighed. "You're..."
"Yes?" I asked.
"You're older! There! You happy now?" Apollo asked me. He looked positively peeved.
"Yes, I am very happy." I replied, smiling. This had to be one of the best things that had ever happened to me during this millennium. After I said that though, an uncomfortable silence had fallen in the kitchen. No one seemed sure about what they should say next.
"Well, how about we move onto Dionysus' turn?" My father suggested after about half a minute. Now that I had gotten over my initial pleasure of Apollo telling everyone else I'm older, I felt sort of bad. My brother was currently sitting in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked angrier than I had ever seen him for a long time. Also, it didn't help that my dad had the "I'm-very-disappointed-with-you" tone.
"You're upset with me, aren't you?" I asked him. Zeus quirked an eyebrow at me then shook his head.
"No, I'm not upset. I'm just... a little disappointed, that's all."
Ugh, see what I mean?
"I'm sorry..." I mumbled to him.
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing too." Zeus replied, gesturing to Apollo. Apollo sat in his seat, glowering at me. I knew I should've apologized but, at that moment, my pride got the best of me. Why should I apologize for making Apollo tell the truth? I did nothing wrong!
I sat silently in my seat, refusing to meet Apollo's eye.
"Alright then," Zeus said. You could practically hear the dismay in his sigh. "Go ahead Dionysus."
The god of wine nodded.
"Who should I choose?" He muttered more to himself than anyone else. He tapped his chin lazily. "Oh, I kn—"
He suddenly sat upright, as if a shock had ran through him.
"Dionysus?" Hera asked. Dionysus stood abruptly, just about knocking over his chair in the process.
"I must go." Dionysus said.
"Dio—"
Before anything else could be said, he teleported out of the room. Everything remained silent for a while. Hermes finally spoke up.
"What just happened?"