Epilogue

Set was always adorable, but Apollo knew he didn't want to hear that word referred to him. How could he deny it, though, especially right now?

Apollo stared at the big black dog hiding in the bush. If Set thought that Apollo couldn't see him, he was wrong, but Apollo liked playing with Set, so he behaved as if he had no idea where his boyfriend was.

He hadn't expected Set to be so free with his affection. He gave Apollo pretty much everything he wanted, so when Apollo had declared that he was bored and wanted to play in the gardens, Set had dragged him there right away. When Apollo had told him that he'd looked into him and knew he could shift into a black dog, he'd explained that he wasn't a dog before shifting to show him.

Apollo could see the differences between Set's animal and dogs, but for lack of a better word, that was what he was calling Set. The fact that Set disliked it meant that Apollo would continue calling him a dog for the rest of their lives together.

Hopefully, they would be endless.

Set pounced, suddenly bursting out of the bush. He hit Apollo's legs and almost took both of them down to the ground, so Apollo leaned over and hauled him into his arms. He was massive, and Apollo made sure to hold him under his armpits so that his back legs dragged on the ground. He could have carried him differently, but he knew this would annoy Set.

Apollo rubbed his nose against Set's black one and smiled. "Who's a good puppy?"

Set shifted instantly, and Apollo found himself with an armful of annoyed god.

"I'm not a puppy," Set said.

"You might not be one, but you were playing around like one."

Once, Set would have completely closed off and stormed away. He wouldn't have allowed anyone to tell him that he was playing around like a puppy. Things were different now. Apollo and Set were together, and while Set acted like he was irritated, he wasn't. Apollo had learned to read his boyfriend's body language, and he could tell that Set was pleased.

He rubbed their noses together again, and this time, they both had human noses, which meant it was less wet and cold.

"Stop that," Set argued, but he didn't push Apollo away.

"Why would I? You're adorable when you blush."

"I'm never adorable. I'm a dangerous god, and you should remember that."

"I'll remember it when I'm fucking you in the shower later," Apollo murmured.

Set cheeks went so red that Apollo wouldn't have been surprised if his head exploded. He laughed, then kissed Set's cheek. "Come on. You know you love it when I tease you."

"There's a fine line between love and hate."

Apollo laughed again and went to stretch out on one of the chairs on the lawn. He loved the sky palace and called it that because it bothered Set. He'd heard Barnaby and Lance refer to the palace that way, and it made sense. It was a palace, and it was in the sky.

But this place was nothing like Mount Olympus. There, everything was cold and hard marble. Even Apollo's throne was like that, and it hurt his butt every time he had to sit on it. He hadn't been back since he told his father to fuck off and that he was about to get involved in the fight against Apophis, and he wasn't planning on ever going back.

Set flopped into the chair next to Apollo's and reached for him. He linked their hands together, and, like always, it made Apollo's heart race. He could hardly believe that Set was comfortable enough to do this in a place where anyone could see them.

He sighed in pleasure. This was the life he'd wanted all along. He didn't have to deal with his father or the rest of their messy pantheon anymore. He'd moved permanently into the sky palace, and he wasn't planning on going anywhere anytime soon. His father had tried summoning him a few times, but Apollo had sent him a message that he was officially an Egyptian god now. It was bullshit, but he would've paid to see the explosion in the throne room when his father had gotten the message. He hoped he'd been clear. He was never going back, and if his father wanted to see him, he would have to come to him.

It would never happen. It was both a relief and sad, but Apollo had gotten over the disappointment a long time ago. He didn't need anyone from his old pantheon. He had more than enough people who cared about him here.

"Are both of you dressed?" a voice called out.

Apollo turned to see Barnaby and Lance walking toward them, both of them covering their eyes. Barnaby kept peeking from between his fingers, and he looked disappointed when he realized that both Apollo and Set were fully dressed.

"They are," he muttered.

Lance dropped his hand and looked at his friend. "How do you know? You weren't supposed to peek."

"How? There was a chance that Set was naked."

Set growled, making both of them jump. Apollo playfully whacked Set's chest, careful of the place where Apophis had wounded him. It had long healed, but it still made Apollo's stomach churn when he thought about it.

That kind of wound wouldn't have killed Set, but it had still been too close for Apollo's taste. What if Apophis's sword had been higher and nicked Set in the throat? What if Ra hadn't pulled Set away quickly enough? Set wouldn't be here today, which wasn't something Apollo wanted to think about.

"Well, neither of us is naked, which I agree is a pity," Apollo said. "If it was up to me, Set would have to walk around the palace with no clothes on every day."

"I can still change my mind," Set said in a calm voice. "I don't have to be with him. I can chalk it up to a moment of madness and go on my way."

Apollo patted Set's knee. "Look at how cute you are, talking to yourself."

"I'm not cute," Set grumbled.

"I beg to differ. You are extremely cute, and I'm lucky you chose me."

That seemed to mollify Set, and he leaned over to kiss Apollo as Lance and Barnaby sat down on the lawn next to the chairs.

Set glanced at them. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"We don't," Barnaby said gleefully. "We were inside, but I think Ra had enough of us and told us to come and find you."

"He probably hoped I would kill you," Set said.

Once, Barnaby and Lance would have been afraid of him. Today, they both rolled their eyes, which made Apollo laugh.

Set crossed his arms over his chest. "Why is no one afraid of me anymore?"

"Why should they be afraid of you? They know you would never hurt them."

"He's right," Barnaby said. "We saw how worried you were about us after the fight, and we realized that you consider us part of your family just as much as Osiris and Thoth. You wouldn't kill family. You wouldn't even torture us."

"I might change my mind about that," Set muttered.

Apollo leaned back in his chair. He watched as Barnaby and Set bickered and wondered how his father couldn't see there was nothing wrong with humans. Mount Olympus was reserved for gods, and Apollo's father would pitch a fit if anyone tried to sneak in their human lovers. The Egyptian pantheon was completely different. Everywhere Apollo looked, there were humans and gods from other pantheons. They felt like a real family, which was what he'd been looking for all along.

He hadn't thought he'd ever have one, but he'd been wrong. His family was right here, all of them safe and sound and looking forward to a bright future.

In Apollo's case, it would be a little dark because that was how Set was, but he didn't mind.