Work Text:
Apollo awoke to screaming.
His first assumption, with his brain still muddled from sleep, was that it must have been him.
He had been waking up screaming for the past few weeks, his dreams filled with horrific visions of his time as a mortal. They were scenes and situations that had never happened. But that didn’t mean they didn’t torment him all the same.
Frank, his skin burned and blackened by the fire, his firewood reduced to nothing but ash because the gods were not kind and never would be. Hazel, screaming over his still body when he was returned to her on Arion.
Piper and Jason, curled up together on a beach in Malibu as if they were sleeping; closer to each other in death than they had been in life. The sea foam washing up to shore to claim their bodies for itself.
And worst of all, Meg. Oh, sweet Meg, looking so young and terrified, her mouth opening in a silent plea of agony as the snake crushed her ribs and squeezed the air out of her lungs.
But no nightmares lingered in his mind tonight. He had been getting his best night of sleep in a long time, safe and tucked up in his room at Artemis’s Moon Palace on Olympus. A soft breeze flowed through the curtains, and shimmering moonbeams shone brightly through an open window. The night was quiet, save for the hooting of owls and-
Another scream pierced the night, cutting through the darkness like knives.
Apollo lurched out of bed, twisting around frantically and trying to free himself from the covers.
"Fuck," he swore when his foot caught in the bed sheets and he fell to the floor with a thud, thrashing in the sheets.
"Apollo!" Artemis cried loudly, sounding more scared than she’d ever been before, her voice higher-pitched than before.
Apollo’s heart felt like it was up in his throat. He shouted back at her incoherently, freeing himself from the covers and stumbling as fast as he could into the neighbouring bedroom.
He summoned his bow and quiver of arrows from thin air and readied a shot, prepared for any danger. Whoever could be foolish enough to attack a goddess must be powerful enough to be a threat.
But his time as a mortal must have affected him more than he'd previously thought. It was only after he made it to her side that he realised he was a god - he could have just instantly materialised next to her, bow and arrow in hand.
If Artemis had been in any danger, those few seconds could have cost him everything.
Thankfully she was asleep. He dropped his bow with a clatter to the floor.
Apollo would have been relieved, if his twin didn’t look so awful.
She was in a nightdress with a white lace collar, and her auburn hair was messy and spread over the pillow. Her face was almost as pale as the sheets, and there was a thin layer of clammy sweat on her forehead. Her bed covers were not as suffocating as his, and she had kicked them to the floor where they stayed crumpled in a heap.
Outside the window, an owl was hooting shrilly, louder than it had been before. Apollo could hear a rustling in the hedges and trees, almost as if the wild animals were anxious over their goddess’s distress.
Artemis was thrashing about and sobbing in her sleep. Every so often she would cry his name softly or her face would screw up and she would whimper as if she were in pain.
"Hey," Apollo murmured, putting a hand on her forehead. It was a chilly night and she was shivering, so he transferred some of his warmth and healing to her. "It’s okay," he comforted her. "I’m here, you're safe."
He scanned the room quickly for any threats regardless. Anyone could have been lurking in the shadows; Morpheus, Phobos or Deimos, to name a few. It wouldn’t be likely - he didn’t know what motivation they would have to torment and torture his sister, given all it would do is put them on the receiving end of all his fire and fury. He didn’t doubt they might claw their way into his sister’s mind and infect her dreams, just for fun.
But he sensed no unwelcome presence.
Artemis was mumbling something indecipherable in her sleep. Her breathing hitched when he rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Come on, wake up," he urged her.
She whimpered and clutched at her bed sheets like they were her lifeline. She let out a few uneven breaths and turned her head to the side, her face screwed up in distress. Silver tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking her pillow wet.
When Apollo shook her shoulders to try and rouse her, she let out another pained, heartbreaking scream. Outside, a wolf howled in harmony.
He flinched back from his twin, feeling guilty, and accidentally knocked into the bedside lamp. Luckily, he caught it with inhuman reflexes before it could smash, and lifted it back up to where it was before.
Apollo sat down on the side of the bed, watching over her cautiously. Her limbs were flailing but he managed to grab one of her hands and keep her still. He squeezed her hand, willing her to wake.
"Artemis!" he called her name desperately, his voice choked with emotion. It was torture to see her like this and not be able to do anything.
She just shuddered and moaned softly.
As a last resort, he sent out a wave of pure energy. He focused hard, trying to transfer his warmth, healing and light to her. Not enough to burn her up or pain her; just enough to make her feel like she was waking to a sunrise on a bright summer’s day. The whole room lit up, pulsing with light like solar flares.
"No!" Artemis jerked awake into a sitting position, panting breathlessly. She squinted into the light, her eyes still bleary and half-closed. "Ah-" she gasped, seemingly still stuck in her delirium and not connected to reality. Her face was ashen and her hands were shaking uncontrollably.
"It’s okay," Apollo tried to soothe her, his voice lowered and calm. "It’s just me. You were dreaming."
Her eyes widened when she saw him and she shrunk back into the bedframe. She was breathing heavily in panic. "Oh, ‘Pollo," she stammered. "Not real-"
She shook her head agitatedly, hair flying wildly. Then she put her head in her hands and groaned.
"It’s okay, I’m with you," Apollo murmured tenderly, taking a great effort to stop himself from just pulling her into the tightest hug ever. He stayed sitting on the side of the bed and sent more of the warmth of the sun her way.
"Did I - uh - what happen-" she stuttered, sounding groggy and confused.
"You had a bad nightmare, just take steady breaths in, okay?"
"Mmm," she hummed, blinking furiously to try and adjust herself to the light. Her eyes were glowing silver, shining and reflecting the light.
Apollo concentrated and dimmed the light a little.
Artemis stared at him curiously, a strange, sad look on her face. "Are you real?" she whispered, her voice small. She bit her lip anxiously, like she didn’t want to know the answer.
"Oh, sis, I’m right here," he replied, blinking back tears. He hated seeing her so vulnerable.
She shivered, her whole body wracked by violent tremors.
"Not real. Not real," she mumbled to herself.
"I’m going to - I’ll get your blankets," Apollo cleared his throat to hold back his emotions. He needed to look away from her before he completely lost it and started crying or something.
He gathered the bed sheets up and made his way over to the window. A lone fox was staring up at him from the gardens and he made a shooing motion towards it, as if to say piss off, nothing to see here. The chilly breeze stopped when he closed the window and drew the curtains across it.
It was only when he was halfway back across the room that he noticed-
Oh, some of the stars had followed him inside…
Apollo blinked back the dizzy stars, his vision fuzzy and clouded over all of a sudden. The light was even dimmer and the room was tilting on its side. His stomach twisted in nausea and ichor pounded in his ears.
"Uh," he groaned lightly, shaking his head to try and get rid of the dizziness. He staggered back towards Artemis, steadying himself against the bed. "Woahhh - feel weird-"
Artemis let out a concerned yelp and reached for his arm to catch him. Her face was all blurry; all he could see was the way her eyebrows furrowed in worry.
Apollo’s legs buckled and he collapsed down onto the bed, leaning into his sister for support. She caught him before his head could slam into the headboard.
His eyelids fluttered shut and his limbs felt floppy and everything went dark and numb for a second-
Then he came back to reality with a ringing in his ears and Artemis’s muffled voice.
"No! Apollo! Apollo!" Artemis was shouting in panic and he winced at the noise. "Are you okay? APOLLO!"
Apollo blinked up at her lethargically, still disorientated. “"H-holy red cows," he slurred, his mouth dry and his tongue feeling all heavy. "Please calm down, I’m fine-"
Artemis’s eyes had a frenzied, wild look to them. She was gently holding his head up while he lay slumped against her side. "Are you okay?" she repeated frantically, watching him carefully for any signs he might pass out again.
She was leaning over him closely, her hair tickling his face. He blinked up at her.
"Mmm," he moaned, the world starting to come into focus again. "I‘m fine, must have overused my sun and healing powers…"
He had been using his powers very little since his re-ascension to Olympus, for fear of burning himself up. It was hard adjusting to being a god again. His powers were unpredictable and sometimes he felt detached from reality, as if he were watching everything from above. He had a constant headache, just this terrible feeling that his own godly essence didn’t quite fit right in him anymore.
It was like he was something new entirely. He supposed it was because no god had ever forcefully taken back their own divinity after being made mortal. No god had ever crawled back from the edge of Chaos itself, had ever kicked Fate in the face and decided; no, I am in control of my own destiny.
It was strange how six months ago, he had felt like a god stuck in a human body. And now, he was very much a human stuck in a god’s body.
"Oh, thank the Fates you’re okay," Artemis gave a shaky sigh, and ran her fingers through some of his curls then kissed his forehead. "You’re just an idiot. I guess you’re definitely real then."
"I’m real," Apollo confirmed, squeezing her hand to prove it. "I’m not going anywhere."
"You left me before," Artemis confessed, her voice breaking. She thinned her lips and turned away from him as if she were trying not to burst out crying. "I mean, I lost you before. I was just scared I’d lose you again."
Apollo’s heart twisted in his chest.
Artemis seemed less panicked now, but her quiet emotional vulnerability only made him all the more worried for her. She was the kind of person who would bottle up her emotions for hundreds of years and then let them loose in an explosion of fury. She was not the type to have nightmares, or confess her greatest fears, or break down in the middle of the night.
"C’mere," Apollo murmured, shuffling around to sit up against the headboard.
His twin sniffed tearfully and let him put his arms around her, enveloping her in a loving, protective hug. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on his shoulder. When her chest started heaving with the force of her sobs, Apollo held onto her tighter.
Artemis looked small; she was in her younger form of about twelve years old. It only made his heart ache even more to see her cry when she looked like this.
He wrapped his uncoordinated limbs around her and pulled the bed sheets up over them both, cocooning them in the warmth. And he tried his best not to break down into sobs too.
"I’m right here," Apollo choked back tears and kissed the top of her head. "I’m safe, I’m not leaving you again."
"I - I saw you fall," Artemis stammered, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I know that in truth you were fine, but - but in my dreams you fell with Python into Chaos and you never came back."
"I came back. I’ll always come back to you," he promised, voice shaking.
His tears finally fell, wetting his eyelashes and dripping down onto Artemis’s hair. She closed her eyes, face screwed up with a devastated expression. And he curled up around her, just trying to breathe in time with her and stay as close as he possibly could. He stroked her cheek, wiping away the tear tracks with his thumb.
They fell asleep cuddled up together in that same position, their limbs completely intertwined so you couldn’t tell one twin from the other, like they were one and the same.