Olympus.
In the vast, grand halls of Olympus, carved by the hands of the Elder Cyclops and the Hekatonkheires, many a god, titan, and spirit mingled in the merrymaking, using this gathering to relax and forget about the serious discussions that had been had a mere few hours ago.
Oceanids and Sea Nymphs played around in the vast pools of liquid nearby, attracting the attention of many a male being nearby, who refrained from doing anything stupid given where they were, but still could not help but stare.
Mountain Nymphs, the daughters of Olympus and the other peaks of the Greek world, moved about, mingling with their fellow spirits, as well as any god or titan that caught their attention.
Many a minor god or titan gathered in groups, laughing and enjoying the evening with their allies, forgetting all about maintaining their domains for this joyous occasion.
Even the Chthonic gods and goddesses, those who are usually feared and unconsciously shunned by those who dwell on the surface and in the skies, were present, enjoying themselves while talking to the occasional god and titan that was willing to approach them.
It is in this kind of setting that Brolios found himself trapped in a way that he never expected.
"Lord Brolios! I heard that you are going out on another expedition soon. Can you tell us what it is like out there?"
"Lord Brolios! We heard that you broke the heart of another nymph recently!"
"Lord Brolios! I heard..."
"Lord Brolios!"
"Lord Brolios!"
The poor God of Destruction was surrounded on all sides by various goddesses, Titanesses, Nymphs, Oceanids, and even the occasional god and titan who was also interested in learning the truth of the various rumors or to watch their old friend suffer from all this attention.
As for the family of the god? They were watching the show from a distance.
Hestia shook her head at the sight with an amused smirk, while Demeter just watched with a sullen look.
One shared by Hecate as well.
Hera was simply lost in thought, tasting the drink brewed for her by Brolios while thinking over the discussion that they had had a few hours ago, weighing the pros and cons of his proposal.
As for the brothers, they simply shared a grin, knowing that their gentle brother was finally facing the result of his thousands of years of inaction. His gentle nature that has won the hearts of countless beings, yet refused to get with even one of them, finally biting him in the back in such a way.
Hades watched with a tiny smirk, which he hid behind his goblet.
"Looks like today is the day he will finally have to give an answer to these girls after so long."
Poseidon nodded with a fake serious look.
"Indeed. Amphitrite has been bugging me for a while now, asking me when her 'beloved friend' would finally settle down with a wife or two or three."
The female Olympians gave him a dubious look.
"Are you sure Amphitrite said that? Brother? Or are you twisting her words to your own ends?"
Demeter nodded at Hestia's words.
"Her worry for Brolios's love life? That I can believe, given how close she was to Brolios during the war, along with her sisters. But that comment about multiple wives? Those are definitely not her words."
The goddess of harvest smirked.
"If she were like that, she would not have beaten you to an inch of your life back then for thinking about bringing in another consort to Atlantis."
Poseidon pouted at those words and muttered in playful resentment.
"I really wish Brolios and I had not trained her and her sisters so well back then. Who knew she would turn that martial prowess on me the moment we went through a little disagreement?"
Despite his words, the satisfied smirk on his face said the exact opposite of his speech, showing his true thoughts.
That he was very much satisfied with such a strong wife who could keep up with him in both the politics of the court and his strength.
Suddenly, Poseidon started looking around.
"Speaking of, where is Zeus? I haven't seen him around for a bit. Don't tell me...he is going to anger Brolios again with his usual antics?"
Hera shook her head, finally coming back to reality.
"He is with Mother and Prometheus. They are discussing the birth of the new mortal race. The so-called Bronze Race."
The Queen of the Gods smirked viciously, sending chills down everyone's spines.
"And even if he were not there, he would not do anything like he usually does. I have that much confidence in him now. After all, he does not want to spend the next five centuries as a powerless, impotent, and completely crippled mortal like Brolios promised he would should he cheat on me again. And as we all know, Brolios never breaks his promises."
Those words instantly shut up the male gods who felt extreme pity for their youngest brother. Being an impotent god as he was for the last two centuries was one thing. But being stripped of all his godly power, turned into a mortal, and then having his limbs crippled on top of that? That would be torture worse than what even Hades could come up with.
While the older Olympians discussed these things, the second generation, who were standing a bit away from their parents and kin, were not idle either.
Apollo was already trying to come up with a prose to describe Brolios's current predicament, earning a slap on the back of his head from his sister.
"Hey! What was that for?"
"Because you are trying to make fun of uncle while he suffers under those wenches who only know how to flaunt their bodies, not understanding his heart at all."
"Awww, does little Arty love our beloved uncle-OW!!"
An arrow found its mark in his knee, making him yowl in pain while Artemis gave him a cold glare.
"Of course I love him, you idiot. He is our uncle and probably the only stable god on Olympus."
"Agreed. Uncle Brolios is the only one who can keep all of them in line and make sure they don't do anything childish."
Athena agreed with her half-sister while she watched the interaction between Brolios and his countless admirers with great intrigue and no small amount of irritation.
She felt intrigued by just how much Brolios is loved by so many divine beings across the realms, not because of any deliberate action on his end, but because of his innate nature and his way of doing things.
But she also felt irritation on behalf of her beloved uncle, knowing that the god would be feeling very much uncomfortable being swarmed like this by the various 'insects' that wish to tangle themselves with him, both metaphorically and physically.
"Well, I for one, think it is about time Uncle finally found someone to settle down with. I mean, he is probably the only god across our realms who does not have a consort yet. By Gaia, I don't even think he ever even had a lover or even an affair in the thousands of years that have gone by since the Titan war."
Persephone muttered as she watched the drama unfold, sharing the same thoughts as he husband, once again showing their synchronicity.
Apollo finally recovered from the 'devastating blow' and leaned towards his two half-brothers. His eyes gleamed with a divine light, showing that he was already using his power of prophecy to look into the countless possibilities of the future. A power that made even the Fates extremely jealous, if the way they were giving the young god the stink eye from across the hall while huddled together was anything to go by.
Of course, they couldn't do anything about it, since a clone of Brolios was standing right by their side, glaring at them, daring them to so much as make a move. Just like he had been doing ever since that fight between him and these three and the oath that Nyx made.
"I bet Uncle is going to find a way to let them all down in such a way that they don't feel offended. Instead, they would only have their feelings elevated to another level."
Hephaestus glanced at Apollo with a look of contempt while he worked on shaping copper into thin strands for some strange contraption.
"That's a sucker's bet, Apollo. We all know how Uncle is."
Ares nodded while grinning, watching the madness unfold in front of him.
"Yeah, we don't need your shitty prophetic powers to know that what you said is exactly what is going to happen given Brolios's nature."
Apollo gave his brothers a sullen look before trudging back to his sister.
"You guys are no fun...."
The Summer Solstice meeting continued in such a beautiful and fun way, allowing the various divine beings to embrace this period of peace in such a pleasant manner.
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