Icarus is Falling // OxO // Closed

(Time skip? I feel like Apollo could come down and like sit on a wall or something and Icarus is like Hi um what the fuck and then voila they talk. I'm bad at explaining things, but the intentions are there 😂)

(hahahaha yes perfect lmao)

Apollo was incredibly bored. His job wasn't as interesting as some might think. Really, all he had to do was make sure the sun came up and sank back down, because that, of course, was how the solar system worked. He couldn't seem to stay away from the labyrinth, no matter how much he'd promised himself he'd stay away. And now he was circling above it for the fifth time this week. He could see Icarus in the labyrinth below him. Not that he'd been watching, or staring, or anything. That would be ridiculous, and probably creepy. He shook his head at himself as he circled lower, touching down on the wall of the labyrinth, where he saw Icarus.

Icarus was leaning against the wall, sketching in his sketchbook again. He took a deep breath, shaking his head a little bit. After a few more minutes, he glanced up and saw Apollo. He jumped, golden eyes going wide. "Oh. How long have you been there?"

Apollo looked down, meeting Icarus's eyes. "A minute, give or take," he answered as truthfully as he could. He'd zoned out and sort of lost track of time. "What are you drawing?"

Icarus bit his lip a little bit. "I don't know. Whatever I can think of." he replied, shaking his head a little.

Apollo hopped off of the wall and ambled over to Icarus. "Could I see it?" He asked softly, curious. It surprised him to find that he was genuinely interested to know what creations Icarus had come up with.

Icarus hesitated, studying Apollo, then cautiously showed the god the sketches. They were of creatures. Horse-like things, or more predatory animals, based off his memories.

Apollo stared intently, examining the artwork. "These are incredible," he breathed. "You could rival Athena," he joked brightly. "Not that I would reccomend it. She's a rather jealous type."

Icarus blushed a little bit, looking away. "Oh. I uhm…I-I doubt that, but…alright."

Apollo waved him off. "You're talented, you'll have to accept that at some point." He looked back at the sketchbook and nodded, as if legitimizing his own point.

Icarus shrugged slightly, biting his lip. "With art, maybe." he replied. He took the sketchbook back, studying it for a moment.

Apollo crosses his arms and leaned against the wall. "Are you suggesting there's an area you aren't talented in?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, not all of us can be talented in everything." Icarus replied, raising his eyebrows a little bit.

"No, most of us can't. I, for example, am laughably bad at dancing," Apollo nodded, remembering his many dance-related failures. "Now, I know what you must be thinking. But Apollo, you're so amazing, how could you be bad at something? But, really, I assure you, it's a good thing I'm immortal, or I'd be dead a hundred times over already. And dying while dancing is a difficult feat to achieve."

Icarus blinked slowly, studying Apollo. "And is dancing the only thing you're bad at?" he finally asked, having no other comment to give on the other things Apollo had said.

"No, actually. This may come as a shock, but I am not a very good stylist. My last haircut made me look like a balding old man," he explained, laughing at the memory. "It really was quite bad."

He let out a snort of laughter. "Really?" he asked, laughing softly. "Well. It's a good thing you got it fixed."

"Also throwing things," Apollo continued, encouraged by Icarus's response. "I have little to no hand-eye coordination. Makes things a bit awkward at the annual family basketball game, though it's certainly not the only thing," he chuckled to himself.

Icarus let out another laugh at that. "I thought gods were supposed to be flawless." he teased with a smile, two small dimples flashing in his cheeks when he did.

Apollo smiled in response. "That may be true, but I'm fairly certain I was a mistake in general, so… I guess they messed up in the god-making factory, or wherever the hell we come from. Probably a bar."

Icarus snorted, running a hand through his wild, dark curls. "Ah, I see." he replied with a smile.

Apollo nodded sagely. "Now you know my secret. I'm not quite perfect. And you? What imperfections could you possibly have?"

(i gtg to bed soon)

Icarus tipped his head. "I…am smaller than i want to be." he gestured to his short, thin frame. "I am not good at reading or writing…." he trailed off, thinking.

(Alright, gn!)
Apollo shook his head, laughing. "That's all? I find your height to be perfectly acceptable," he grinned, pointedly looking down at Icarus. "And reading and writing are overrated."

Icarus frowned a little. "And…" He shook his head slightly. "I don't know." He let out a breath.

"What?" Apollo asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you questioning my ability to decide what's important? Or is there another secret flaw?" He thought for a moment before speaking. "Is it an extra toe? No, no - the flaw is that I'm not actually your favourite god. That's it, isn't it?"

Icarus stuck his tongue out. "I was promised to your sister, actually." He replied, leaning against the wall and looking up at Apollo.

"Artemis?" He asked, visibly cringing. "That's horrible, she's an ass about 97% of the time."

Icarus shrugged a little. "I was dedicated to her at birth. I don't know if that means I'm supposed to stay a virgin for life or what."