Storm [LAMS demigod AU]

John

Trigger warning: death, violence, destruction, hurricanes/storms

A/N: I like writing about Apollo because I've been obsessed with sunflowers lately and I read somewhere that sunflowers are a symbol of Apollo. I literally decorated my entire dorm room with sunflowers :)

John had expected another nightmare.

He'd expected to see the Voice and Thomas in their scary field in Virginia. He'd expected to listen to them discuss their plans for destroying the gods. He'd expected intense pain in his head. He'd expected to vomit the second he woke up.

What he hadn't expected, however, was his father.

John had never met his father before. That probably sounds crazy to people from normal families, but when your father's the Greek god of the sun, he's not exactly coming to watch your basketball games.

The man standing in front of him had golden blonde hair. His skin was deeply tanned. He had the same freckles that John did, scattered all across the bridge of his nose and cheekbones. His eyes were the color of a clear summer sky. When he smiled, his teeth were so white John wished he'd brought a pair of sunglasses.

John instantly knew that it was Apollo.

It wasn't so much his appearance. Sure, John knew what Apollo looked like from art and written descriptions of him, but when it came to gods, looks could be deceiving. The gods could take on any form they liked, make themselves look like anyone and anything with a snap of their godly fingers.

John could just feel that it was Apollo. It was like when you returned home after a long vacation. You were immediately overwhelmed by the sensation of familiarity, of "this is where I belong", of "this is my home." It was the feeling of hugging a family member you hadn't seen in a long time and having that hug just feel so different than any other hug you'd received.

To John, being around his father felt like being home.

"John." Apollo said, walking towards him. He was dressed simply, in jeans and a t-shirt. He looked about John's age, which he found a bit unsettling.

"John." Apollo said simply. His voice was melodic, almost musical, as though each syllable were another chord being struck.

"Apollo." John had no idea what to say. He'd always dreamed of meeting his father, but he'd never dreamed of it being like this. He'd dreamed of a happy meeting, perhaps a meeting that ended in Apollo letting him take the sun chariot for a spin. He'd dreamed of laughing with his father and telling him stories about Camp Half-Blood. He'd never dreamed of meeting him in an actual dream while on a quest to stop an angry son of Athena and his demonic Mistress from destroying the gods.

"Look, John, I don't have much time." Apollo said. He looked stressed. His jaw (which was almost as sharp as Alex's), was clenched. He had worry lines around his eyes. "The gods, we've been struggling a lot lately. I'm not even supposed to be communicating with any of my children right now. But this is important. I need to show you something very important."

"Father, I-"

"I know you have a lot you want to say to me, John, but now's not the time. Look, the Voice wants to make you and Alex fight. It wants one of you to kill the other. In order to prevent that from happening, you two need to form a strong bond, a connection so strong that it cannot be broken, no matter what kind of Underworld magic she attempts." Apollo took a deep breath. "In order for that to happen, you need to understand the Roman."

"What does that-"

Before John could finish his sentence, Apollo placed his hand on John's forehead.