shooterfromafar | At Last [for scarlettwin]

As far as Apollo could tell when it began, the day was no different than any other day. Standing on the balcony of his favorite estate, overlooking the crystal blue Aegean, the weather sunny and fair, he had no warning at all that this day of all days would be the one to change his immortal life forever.

He felt a tingle at the back of his neck, a signal that one of his brethren Olympians had just used their gift to appear in his vicinity. Although the humans of the world had not worshipped the gods of Mount Olympus in a long time, they still retained their power and immortality, and so such travel was still available to them. Apollo also recognized the feel of this arrival, knowing it to be his beloved twin sister, Artemis. He'd invited his twin to spend time at his villa as he often did, cherishing the time he spent around her.

Artemis had always been his other half, that which completed him. And Apollo had never once questioned his desire to make that true in every sense. They were gods, and in his opinion, utterly above any human mores or standards. He loved his sister, as a true friend, as a part of him, and as a woman. And Apollo had spent centuries trying to convince Artemis of this and, if he was truly fortunate, to forsake her ancient vow of celibacy for him.

But always, Apollo had been spurned, at least in that last respect. It did not keep him from continuing to try, though, and so when he turned to greet his twin, it was with open arms and a warm smile and thoughts of how best to prevail upon her.

"My beloved sister..."

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From:

shooterfromafar

Apollo nodded at all of it. His sister was right, of course. If any of the other Olympians knew that Artemis had broken her vow, they would consider her fair game and things such as will and consent meant little to some of their relatives. No, much better to keep their love a secret for them alone. No interference, no curiosity, no explanations.

"You're right, beloved. There's no reason to involve anyone else. Then we can simply do this as often as we want," Apollo said, gesturing at his villa. "Make time for ourselves and escape into one another's arms whenever we like."

With a deep breath, he placed one more kiss on his twin's cheek, then stood. "Go ahead. I will follow in a little while, so as not to arouse suspicion. It won't be easy to concentrate on father's latest tirade with the memory of you so fresh, but we'll survive. Until the next time, my love?"

From:

scarlettwin

In hindsight, their aunt Aphrodite might sense something different in her, but she wasn't one to gossip...much. As long as both of them kept their heads on their shoulders and didn't act any differently, no one would be the wiser.

"Mm, and no one to question us about anything..." she hummed in agreement, making sure her dress was smoothed out further. Every detail had to be in place. Every detail had to be spot on if they were going to keep the illusion that nothing happened between them.

"Do you think it'll be any easier for me, Brother? I'm already missing your body against me." His warmth, his scent, and being able to cling to him as often as she pleased. But, they had to arrive separately. They couldn't do anything out of the ordinary. With a nod of her head, Artemis vanished, heading to Olympus where the other Gods had gathered. Zeus looked unhappy, but that was nothing new...

For now, Artemis had to play nice with her family, ignoring the stares of some of her uncles and cousins. They pined after her, wanting to claim her virginity for themselves, but she didn't pay them any attention. Already she was counting down to the minutes until they could leave.

From:

shooterfromafar

"No," Apollo answered honestly, shaking his head. "It may very well be torture for us both, but a necessary one. We have fought our share of wars for all manner of reasons. We have the strength to put aside our needs for whatever time it takes until we can be together again." He smirked at Artemis. "And just think of how much more exciting it will be when we finally can."

He gave Artemis several minutes' lead time, then moved himself to Olympus as well. Apollo could not help but glance in their sister Aphrodite's direction almost immediately after, and sure enough, the other goddess did indeed have a speculative, but amused expression on her face. The goddess of love said nothing, though, and for that, Apollo was grateful.

Dionysus, as usual, was the last to arrive, already in his cups. As the pantheon took their seats, old Zeus stood from his throne and began a tirade that Apollo scarcely paid attention to. Something about mortals destroying one of his ancient temples with their warfare, and demanding retribution. Apollo did his best to keep from glancing in Artemis' direction constantly.

From:

scarlettwin

Artemis was doing her best to not look in her brother's direction, only glancing at him once or twice as she normally would have. As it were, the other Gods were waiting for the last of them to come forward before taking their seats. Then Zeus started his tirade, demanding retribution. She didn't want to pay attention to his anger filled words, but when it came to her forests, her animals, she had to listen.

Some of the other Gods began to get into the debate if there should even be retribution, considering most mortals no longer deepened on them. Which brought up another topic of what they would do now. Some sided on making their presence known to the world once more; shake the earth and get the mortals to bow at their feet again. Or, if they should remain in the shadows and let the mortals forget their existence and then strike at them eons later.

At that point, Artemis' attention began to fade. She didn't care at this point. This meeting was dragging on too long, but until Zeus dismissed them, they had to stay. Not unless they wanted to face his wrath, and no one liked it when Zeus had a temper tantrum.

From:

shooterfromafar

Apollo remained mostly silent during the discussion that followed Zeus' ranting, only speaking now and again to offer the sort of advice he usually did in these situations. All-out war was not the answer, he typically argued, and neither was leaving things alone. Perhaps Poseidon could send an earthquake or tsunami into one of the mortals' population centers? A natural disaster always tended to prompt the humans to turn to their gods for help.

Other than a word here and there, he remained as impassive and calm as he could, his mind utterly and completely distracted by memories of Artemis' body writhing and twisting against his. So distracted was the god, in fact, that he nearly missed the call to adjourn the gathering.

From:

scarlettwin

When all was said and done, the meeting that had been called into question amounted to nothing but wasted time. Granted, they were immortal, so time wasn't such a big deal. However, to a goddess who wanted to spend more of her time with her other half, that time was wasted for nothing. Meeting adjourned, she made her way to Apollo's side, casually leaning against his chair as she crossed her arms over her chest. She had to at least appear by his side as not to arouse suspicion.

"Interesting wasn't it?" she mused softly.

"A war with the mortal wouldn't do us any good, but he is set in his ways."

From:

shooterfromafar

With a sigh, Apollo sank back into his own seat and looked up at his sister as casually as he could manage. To any of their relatives, it should look like any conversation they'd seen the twins having after every one of these gatherings for the last thousand years or more.

"I'd be willing to wager that mother's killed or transformed another one of his mortal conquests, and so he'll be feeling particularly irritable until he gets some relief."

Now that he knew the wonder of sharing a bed with his twin, Apollo wondered amusedly to himself whether he would be the same in between opportunities to be alone with Artemis.

"And what occupies your time these days, sister?"

From:

scarlettwin

"He won't be getting any relief soon, you know that." If Hera did kill one of Zeus' lovers, then he would be in a very bad mood for what? Centuries? The shortest time Zeus recovered from a temper tantrum was twenty years. Not unless he went after a nymph, but even those creatures knew better than to test Hera.

There was a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Nothing has changed. Out in the forest, archery and spending time with the animals. I should look for a new home. Something that faces the ocean...perhaps something like your home."

A sly smile danced along her lips at the little secret between them. His home was hers, she knew, but they had to keep up the appearance of her being chaste. A little more time talking and then they could easily slip away and enjoy their time together once more.

From:

shooterfromafar

Apollo nodded sagely. Zeus' passions were, if one was inclined to really analyze the history, one of the most significant sources of the Olympians' woes, not to mention plenty of tribulations for the humans below. More than once, Aphrodite had attempted to find acceptable ways for their father to sate himself, but the king of the gods enjoyed the chase as much as the conquest.

As his sister continued, Apollo suppressed a smirk. "I quite like my villa. I'm sure I can help you find something similar that you'll enjoy."

The idea danced in his mind. Although they were capable of transporting themselves anywhere in the world in moments, Artemis setting up house close to his own might be a help if anyone noticed how much time the goddess was spending around her brother's home.

From:

scarlettwin

"Help would be appreciated, but I'm in no rush. I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I stayed over from time to time." Artemis really had to try hard to not smile at her own words. No doubt their aunt was picking up on their subtle flirting. Thankfully their uncles and other cousins were too busy with chatting amongst themselves to pay real attention to the twins. Her hand came close to his, barely brushing against it.

"Should we take our leave?" They came in separately, it wouldn't arouse suspicion if they were to leave together. The were awfully close as it was, but as far as the rest of them knew, Artemis was still chaste. It would be a horrid day if Zeus ever found out his daughter was no longer a virgin--he may seek her out on his own. That would cause another war between them, and only make it all the more chaotic for the humans below.

From:

shooterfromafar

At the moment, Aphrodite had a cup of wine raised to her lips, sipping slowly to cover up her continued snickering as she watched the twins attempting to look casual and not at all like they were flirting. The fact was that they were certainly doing a fair job of pretending, but the goddess of love was much more difficult to fool. But there was no risk of Aphrodite exposing them-- in fact, she'd been encouraging Apollo to seal the deal for ages.

Apollo looked casually around the room. The family had broken up into its usual knots and factions, with everyone slipping easily into their familiar roles. He glanced up at Artemis, hoping that no one would notice the adoration that swelled inside of him when his eyes met hers. "I don't see why not, sister. No one needs us here for the moment."

From:

scarlettwin

Artemis knew their aunt had been trying for ages to get her to be with Apollo, offering up every reason for them to be together. But just like Apollo, Artemis shook her head and didn't give in. Even against the Goddess of Love, Artemis still clung to her old beliefs. Until now, until last night when the world was banished from her mind and all Artemis could do was revel in the pleasures of her brother.

Humming in approval, Artemis placed her hand on top of Apollo's, her fingers sliding in between the spaces of his knuckles.

"Then let's go.." Home, was the word missing from her sentence, but she didn't dare breathe it into existence. She couldn't risk having one of the other Gods take notice--aside from their aunt. The love and affection that shone from her eyes as she looked him was a big enough risk as it was.

From:

shooterfromafar

Even Apollo could sense that they were treading on very dangerous ground now, displaying a level and kind of affection towards one another that an careful observer would be sure to question. He rose, giving Artemis' hand a momentary squeeze before letting it go. "Why don't you come with me, and I can show you the lands around my home? Perhaps you'll find a plot you'd like to build on."

He nodded towards Zeus, who waved him off absentmindedly, far more interested in the argument he was having with his brothers Poseidon and Hades. Apollo glanced back once more at Aphrodite, who winked and gave him a "shoo-ing" motion with her hand. "Shall we?" he asked his twin.

From:

scarlettwin

"Perhaps. It would be nice to have a home to come back to. " Considering the forests were her domain and she did do a lot of traveling in her younger days. They had to wrap things up, before their father or anyone else picked up on their small affections and exchanges. The moment her twin asked if they could go, she took it.

Artemis slipped her hand into his and nodded, letting him whisk them away back to his home. The moment her feet touched the grounds of her brother's home, she clung to him fiercely. She buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"We weren't needed for that," she groaned, hating how a few hours were taken from them when they could've been in his bed enjoying each other.

From:

shooterfromafar

Apollo's arms were around his twin immediately, holding her close to his body. "No, we weren't. But it would have been so much worse if we had not shown up. Then there would definitely be suspicion, and we don't want that."

It made his heart ache some to know that as far as either of them could guess, he and Artemis could never truly be open about their love. Not that any of the Olympians would object, not with their pantheon's propensity towards ignoring familial ties completely in pursuit of pleasure. But to reveal that Artemis had foresworn her pledge and given up her virginity would have placed a target on her, and even Zeus' favored son would not be able to protect her forever.

"Let's forget about it for now," he murmured. "We're here together again."

From:

scarlettwin

Within the foreseeable future, they would have to hide their love from the rest of their family. Otherwise, Artemis would have others trying to peruse her--even Zeus. No one could say no to him, not even Artemis herself. She could fight him, but none of them were powerful enough to take him on. Perhaps in the coming thousand years or so, their relatives would mature and learn to restrain themselves...

But it was wishful thinking at this point. All they could do now was hold each other and pick up where they left off.

"For now," she murmured, trying not to think about the next time they would be summoned for another pointless meeting.