Four Loves, Three Plants, Two Trees, One Human

The Breakup

"How could you do this to me, Apollo?" Jay cried, reaching for the sun god's arm.

"I couldn't help myself, pookie," Apollo looked at his feet, shamefully.

"I'm a player," Apollo explained quietly, unable to meet his lover's eye. "What did you expect?"

"You've been alive for thousands of years!" Jay screamed, unable to control themselves in his time of desperation. "You couldn't keep it in your pants for, like, a decade?"

"He is just too pretty," Apollo admitted, "I am just a silly goofy god. I couldn't help myself."

"He sounds fake as Hades," Apollo gasped as the words left Jay's lips.

"I don't even like that guy," Apollo whispered in offense.

"I know," Jay uttered the hateful words, stinging Apollo like venom with every syllable.

"Now, I really must go."

Jay sobbed with the declaration, unsure how to convince the god to stay.

"You were never worthy of my love, burning with the power of the sun," Apollo spit, "You never read the poetry I wrote you!"

"I couldn't!" Jay yelled in their defense.

"You mean you wouldn't!" Apollo clapped back.

"No," Jay exclaimed, "I couldn't! I don't know how!"

Apollo took a step back in shock.

"You... you couldn't?"

Tears leaked from Jay's eyes as they considered how to explain himself.

"I don't know how to read them," As the words left Jay's lips, he heaved a huge breath.

Apollo approached, laying a hand under Jay's chin. Gently, he raised his partner's head to meet his eye.

"If that's a lie," he warned, "it's pathetic. If it's the truth, that's worse."

"No! I tried to learn!"

"Not well enough!" Apollo looked to the heavens, crying in desperation.

"I tried, I swear that I did! It's just hard to teach an old dog new tricks," Jay's argument crumbled beneath them.

"Don't I know it," Apollo seethed, regretting all the hours he wasted trying to do exactly that.

"Just one more chance!" Jay begged, dropping to his knees.

"You've had far too many of those," Apollo shoved Jay's miserable hands from his toga.

"Goodbye, Jay. I have a long memory, being immortal, and the time we spent should burn a savage hole in it," With that, the sun god turned on his heel and fled.

"Fine!" Jay called from his lowly spot. "I thought you were the god of the sun but this is just dark! Go have fun with your flowery boy. I hope he doesn't know how to read, either!"

Jay caught one final glance of the lord of poetry as he turned, an expression of disgust Jay had never previously seen dominating Apollo's once gorgeous face.

"I will have a great time because he can read."

With that, the sunlight bent in a rainbow illusion and he was gone, leaving the broken heart of his former lover behind.