"Tell me Apollo, do you truly love me, as you claim you have loved so many others? Do you love me like Hyacinthus, who you loved even after death? As you loved Cyaprissus or Cyrene?"

       "Of course I do Icarus. It is hard being a god. Even if I grow to love a mortal as I do so often, I know that they will die."

        "So why can you not make me a god? We would be together for eternity, I would never have to leave you." There was desperation in the young man's eyes.

        "It is not that simple αγάπη μου*. Even Heracles was not made into a god until he completed his tasks."

        "So I would need to do something great? I know what I need to do then. My father is a genius you know, and so am I." Icarus turned, and ran off to his father's home.

       Apollo whispered to himself, "Please my love. Don't do something stupid."

~~•~•~•~~

     "Father! Are you home? I need your help with something!" Daedalus came out of another room of the building.

     "Ah, Icarus. What is it that you need?"

     "I've come up with an idea, and I just need your help to execute it. I've discovered how to fly. Wings made with bird's feathers, and bound together with wax. I've already made a pair that allowed me to glide, but not fly." By the end of his speech, he was jumping with excitement.
      
     Daedalus raised an eyebrow. "And how does it work my boy?"
  
     "I'm not entirely sure, I just know that it does. Maybe it's a gift from the gods. All I know is that with our combined minds that well be able to make working wings."

     And so the pair worked day and night to create a working pair. They used branches to form the bones, and deftly wove together many rows of feathers. At the end, of their crafting, they sealed the many rows of feathers with wax. They bound the makeshift wings to their arms with straps of leather, and went to test them.

   The experiment was a success. They leaped off of the top of Daedalus' home, and soared through the sky. Icarus whooped with joys, and flew to his own home, and reached it in seconds.

    "Apollo! I did it! I can fly! This is the discovery of the century!"

      A flash of light shone in another room, and the god came out of it.

     "Really? That's great αστέρι μου**. It is not as mighty as the deeds of other heroes, but I am certain that this will bring us together. Let us go to Olympus, and Zeus shall surely see what you have done is great."

~~•~•~•~~

     "So Apollo, this scrawny "man" is your newest obsession? Why have you brought him before us? A mortal even stepping foot on Olympus is blasphemous, and he is teetering on that edge. You are the only reason he has not been struck down as of yet, son."
 
      "I believe he is worthy of godhood. His intelligence is above all other mortals, and he has helped his kind in many ways. His most recent invention, in fact, was the gift of flight. He created a pair of wings that allowed the humans to fly like the birds."

      "Tell me Apollo, what do you suggest he rule over if I do indeed grant your request?"

       "I would like him to be made the god of new ideas, and of the colors of the sky at sunset. And if you do grant my request, I would like to ask Hera to bless us with a child with both of our blood in its veins."

       "You do not ask for much, Apollo. Why?"

        "I truly love this mortal, and I would like to stay with him forever. I would finally settle down as you ask me to, and a child would complete that."

        Zeus held himself in thought for some time, before raising his head to speak. "Yes, Apollo, I will grant you request. You have asked me for many things over the millennia, but this is the only one made out of love." The king of Olympus gave a rare smile, a raised his hand to Icarus.

        "I bathe the one named Icarus in holy light. Let ichor run through your veins, and let ambrosia and nectar fill your stomach."

       Icarus began to glow, and when the light finally fell away, his tattered clothes were replaced with a chiton depicting a sunset over the ocean. The artificial wings on his arms were gone, and a beautiful pair of fluffy white wings were on his back. He began to cry.
 
      "My Lord Zeus, you are so great and wise, I can never thank you enough for this."

       "Your job is a busy one, so take care not to slack off. Mortals are creative, and you will have quite a handful."

       Icarus grabbed Apollo's hand and smiled at Zeus.

       "I swear that I won't."  His face split with a grin, and he ran off, tugging the sun god with him. He couldn't be happier.