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"Alright, alright! That was amazing guys!" exclaimed Will, who had just finished leading the singalong. "Now, I'm going to let Demos take the stage, as I've been told he's written a special song for us."
"Thanks, Will," Demos said as the son of Apollo sat back down with his siblings. "As some of you may know, it was two years ago today that I walked in on a... very intimate moment, shall we say, between my brother Percy Jackson and the god Apollo. Now, it wasn't anything not family-friendly, although I have walked in on such moments..."
The Apollo cabin, plus Percy, all groaned in unison, hiding their faces in their hands. Apollo was simply laughing, holding Percy by the waist.
"Don't be acting so embarrassed, Kayla, you were the one who took the pictures," the younger god said, pointing at his cousin. "Anyways, today is the last day before my dear brother is supposed to ascend and join his immortal family-"
Thalia booed at that.
"I'm not happy about it either, Thals, don't worry," Percy chuckled. She glared and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Grover's ascending too!" the satyr in question yelled indignantly at the same time.
"Dude, we found out yesterday. There's no way I could've written you into this," Demos sighed. "Now, let's continue on.
"I thought I would take it upon myself to be a good big brother and write him a special song. It's called 'Sing, o' Muse (of When the Horizon Blooms)'. I hope you guys enjoy it." Demos conjured a piano and began to play the opening notes. Austin Lake took Will's guitar and joined in, as did Coach Hedge with his pan pipes.
"The Lovers of Apollo Club
They say it must be so inclusive
But true members are quite elusive
Instead of a thousand, there’s only, what, three of them?
Once I’m done tallying tragedies on my fingers
Let’s focus on a boy
Too popular for his own good
Too powerful for the king’s peace of mind
Every step he takes, he’s asking for disaster
But he’s his favourite anyway
I never thought I’d see the day
Moment by moment, I’m watching the latest Olympian romance bloom
Their future is so… bright
And as I’m walking through my gardens, I look into the distance and say
Sing, o' Muse
Of when the horizon blooms
Of when the sun meets the sea
Look at this god forsaken fool you made me
Singing of a love that isn’t even mine
I’m constantly re-reading their chronicled fate
They'll love each other more than the ocean and the sky
But do you know?
It’s not all sappy Tumblr poetry
I’m using the power of a prayer
Day in, day out, at an altar for the best god
To make sure that their life is like music, vast and magical
And there won’t be a single day without their light
Moment by moment, I’m watching two broken hearts heal
I always pinch myself to make sure it’s real
For the first time in centuries, I can hear him calling
Sing, o' Muse
Of when the horizon blooms
Of when the sun meets the sea
Look at this god forsaken fool you’ve made me
Singing for a boy who’ll never be mine
‘Tis the season for love
I’m by the salt water springs
And doing nothing but waiting
It’s about time for new summer romances, and I’m hoping to fulfill my latest mission…
The boy flows with the currents
He’s afraid to love like he had once before
The god paces back and forth, trying to gather the words
But somehow he’s become a stuttering mess despite his normal eloquence
Every time they pass each other, there’s hope
But it’s for only sixty seconds
They always get too nervous
But, one fateful day, I overhear something...
“No more hypotheticals, my love. We only have our future to look forward to."
It’s nothing more than a whisper, but it rings loud and true
And so the muses sing
Of when the horizon bloomed
Of when the sun met the sea
They’ve made us into god forsaken fools
Singing of a love we could never have"
There was a moment of silence before the camp erupted into cheers. The trio onstage took a bow.
"That's my brother guys!" Percy yelled proudly.
"He was my brother first!" Nico argued.
"Demos is everybody's brother," said Tyson.
"Yes he is, Tyson, yes he is," replied Hazel, patting his arm while glaring reproachfully at her brothers.
"And that's it for the night!" Demos shouted above the crowd. "Camp Jupiter kids, you'll be sharing cabins with your Greek siblings. Now, I suggest everyone get a good night's sleep, we have a huge day tomorrow!"
As everyone retreated to their cabins, only Percy, Tyson, Nico, Hazel, Thalia, Annabeth, and Grover remained, as Apollo had to help Amphitrite with the final ceremony preparations and taken the Hunters with him. As his brother approached, Percy ran up and hugged him tightly. Everyone else soon joined in.
"That was beautiful," whispered Percy. "Thank you."
"Anything for you, little bro," Demos replied softly. "I assume we're all having a sleepover in Cabin Three? I don't think any of us are keen to leave you alone."
"It's not like we would've in the first place," said Annabeth. "I'll let Malcolm know and get the Apollo trio. See you guys in five."
The group ended up in a cuddle pile on the floor of the Poseidon cabin. Tyson had moved the mattresses from the bunks to the floor and spread them out so they made one huge mattress. Demos and Tyson each slept on one end. Percy was in the middle, with his arms around Grover and Kayla, who were using his chest as a pillow. Annabeth was tucked against Grover, reaching one arm out to grab Percy's shoulder. Thalia had her arms wrapped around Annabeth's waist, and Nico and Will were mirroring them on the other side. Austin and Hazel both had their backs to Will and Thalia respectively. Eventually, Clarisse, Frank, and the Stolls had snuck out to join them, and Piper and Leo came not long after. Frank held Hazel while Clarisse had one arm around him. She was holding Tyson's hand with the other. Connor tucked himself next to Austin, while Travis reached to to grab Demos' hand. When Leo came in, he slid between the two brothers and put his arms around them. Piper crawled next to Thalia and cuddled Hazel from behind.
Chiron had a bemused look on his face when he came to wake Percy and Tyson the next morning.
Due to their empathy link, Grover had to ascend along with Percy. Not that he minded, it just meant he got to spend eternity with his best friend. Percy became the god of riptides, loyalty, and demigods, while Grover became the new god of the wild. All the residents of Olympus, Atlantis, Camp Half-Blood, and Camp Jupiter were at the ceremony.
Seven years later, Percy and Apollo got married. They had two kids, courtesy of Demos' creation abilities: Jacinda, goddess of the horizon, and Crest, god of mental health.
Once Dionysus retired, Percy and Grover stepped in as the new camp directors. Will and Nico had stayed at camp, Will as a healer and Nico as a trainer, so they became very close. They had a daughter, Bianca Lee Solace, and she was everyone's favourite kid.
Thalia stopped by with the Hunters at least twice a month, and the Muses would often perform at the bonfires. And each year, to the day, accompanied by Demos, they would sing the song of when the sun met the sea, and how the horizon bloomed.