With Blood shall come Desire (MxM)

☽ Chapter Twenty Eight ☾

𝕾ilthos had his eyes closed and tried to process what happened. His breathing was still going faster than usual. Slowly, the redhead opened them and their eyes immediately found each other. The mist of Aristaeus that was covering Silthos' senses had vanished. His passive powers came back in an instant. But even the god of love and desire was surprised by how open Aristaeus was to see through. Not like an open book, more like a flower trapped in pure glass. He was able to see right through his pale skin, like he could touch his bare soul right away. Aristaeus had completely opened up to him and what he found made Silthos' heart swell. The god of blood and war would die for him. And that was not a simple phrase like humans said sometimes when they got carried away by love. Aristaeus meant it. He would gladly pierce a spear through his heart and stop the beating forever to keep Silthos safe. The god of love and desire was deep in thought while considering the love of Aristaeus. Tears had found their way into his eyes and slowly left them.

Aristaeus slightly furrowed his brows and braced himself on one arm. "What's wrong, love...", he gently stroked his cheek and looked at him worried. For a second he was scared that Silthos regretted being so intimate with him but he fastly rejected that thought. It couldn't have been that. Silthos has always been honest with his feelings towards him. Was it about the sword? He knew that a big battle stood before them and they needed allies. Was that what he was worrying about?

"Your little magic is gone, I can see right through you... everything. Seeing your love for me so clear... I can't help but cry." Silthos smiled at him with tears falling down his cheeks.

Aristaeus shook his head in disbelief and couldn't help but smile. "Don't look so hard then...", he whispered and wiped his tears away, before leaning down and slowly leaving kisses on his face. His cheeks, nose, eyelids and then his lips. "I didn't expect to confess my love in that way though.", he chuckled slightly.

"You opened yourself to me completely... probably not on purpose but you did." Silthos put his hand on Aristaeus' chest, where his heart lay underneath. "I can see right through you... like you were just made out of thin glass.", he breathed. The redhead leaned forward and gently kissed his forehead. "We should... clean ourselves."

Aristaeus hummed, not at all keen on leaving the bed, but he still stood up. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Aristaeus couldn't help but linger for a second and look at Silthos laying on the bed. "You're a big distraction...", he whispered and grinned, before finally making it to the bathroom. Aristaeus cleaned himself and then came back with a wet towel to do the same with Silthos.

Silthos was getting sleepy and barely realised that Aristaeus cleaned him. He tried to stay awake, even forced himself. He wanted to remember this moment forever, he wanted to escape reality by just laying in Aristaeus' arms. And it had worked. Aristaeus' hug turned into a portal to a peaceful sphere, where only these two existed. "Aris...", he whispered.

The ghost of a smile painted his lips as he laid down next to Silthos. He draped the blanket over their bodies and instinctively pulled Silthos' body close. He could get used to having the god call him that or having him lying in his arms. These simple things meant incredibly much to him.

"Sleep well...", was all Silthos got himself to say more and then drifted into a deep sleep.

While the little house near the sea was brimming with peace, above the skies raged unrest. Gods were split between each other because of recent events. When Syrena and her allies came back to the halls of the gods, bloodied and bruised, an argument broke out between the forces. For the first time in a long time they questioned Aurelius' authority. Trying to hurt his own grandson just for the sake of winning a battle against Lunaan was outrageous to some.

The gods split into two sides. The ones behind Aurelius and the ones behind Silthos.

Silthos slept through the full night. His hands automatically found the body of Aristaeus. He just needed the assurance to have him next to him. To feel his chest rose and fell.

Aristaeus slept like a dead man, dreaming of red hair and honey eyes glowing in the rays of the setting sun. When he woke up the next morning his whole body felt like it was glued to the bed. A mop of hair was splayed onto his chest and he could feel the weight of Silthos on him. Aristaeus smiled softly and stroked over the man's arm with gentle hands. He looked so innocent when he slept, like a young god that was just discovering the world. Aristaeus had no intention of waking him and just enjoyed the quiet and peace. He knew what was coming towards them so he would treasure such moments as long as he could.

Silthos opened his eyes after a long time and the first thing he felt was the big chest of Aristaeus rising and falling. Then his scent - the safe place of burning wood. And then he felt his soft motions - how he stroked his arm and head gently. Silthos almost thought this was all a dream and he didn't want to wake up. "Morning...", the redhead murmured with a raspy voice.

Aristaeus felt his voice vibrating through his body and looked down at the sleepy god. He huffed out a 'morning' in reply but didn't make any tries to leave the bed. "Slept good?"

Silthos nodded while still half asleep and turned his head to look at the man who opened up to him so clearly. He touched his cheek and softly stroked over it. It was probably due to being still sleepy, but Silthos just absently moved his hand like that.

Aristaeus leaned into the touch and melted from Silthos' gentle hands. "Your hands are cold...", he mumbled under his nose and closed his eyes. "Your feet are also cold..." Aristaeus had no problem with it but he wondered how Silthos could still feel cool to the touch, despite his own body temperature being high.

"Yes... but you are my big fireplace..." He snuggled closer to him and shortly kissed his neck. "If I say I want us to stay here forever... would you stay with me?", he whispered. Silthos never had felt the way he felt with Aristaeus ever before. He felt like he was drowning in this love, but had been stepping into the water voluntarily, chaining himself at a heavy rock to sink deeper and deeper.

Aristaeus wrapped his arms around him and hummed contently. "Of course I would." Aristaeus would move mountains and bring down the stars if Silthos wanted him to. Being called 'his' by Silthos made his heart beat strangely fast. His fireplace. That's what he wanted to be. To keep him warm in the coldest times and light his way in the darkness.

Silthis drew circles on Aristaeus naked chest. "Is it okay for me to be scared as a god? Humans have so many things to fear all the time... their short life, their working place, to have enough money. And now I'm scared because my eternal existence... is limited."

Every time Aristaeus thought about the closer coming fate of Silthos, his heart felt like it was ripped out once again. "It's okay to be scared... I'm scared too.", he whispered. "A part of us is human too. We have the right to feel this way..." Aristaeus unintentionally held the god closer, thinking about what would or could happen.

Silthos felt that the other god had pulled him closer and smiled softly. "No matter what will happen... I am so glad to experience this with you... to be so honestly loved by you." He slowly got himself up a little just to look at the other god. "Thank you for this, Aris."

Aristaeus touched his cheeks and kissed him gently. Silthos' words gave him hope. He hoped that maybe things would turn out good for them. "I'm the one who should thank you. If it weren't for you I would not even get the chance to love you..."

Silthos closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss. The butterflies in his stomach were going crazy. "We should get up... Lunaan is in danger. I would love to stay longer... but we can't run away from destiny."

Aristaeus sighed and pulled him down for one more kiss, before giving in. Reality was creeping up on him like a fox onto a bunny. He could taste the danger lurking outside of the house. "Do you know where he is? I hope he didn't already march through the halls and put himself in danger. Even with the sword... he's most likely outnumbered."

"I hope he is still in his tower. I know Destiny told Vincent to wait to meet him, but this should be enough now. Uniting Lunaan with Vincent again should give him back his clear mind. Also, we can't torture them like that." Silthos got up searching for his clothes. "Xyliath, I really hope Lunaan isn't raiding the palace of Aurelius alone... they will rip him apart."

Aristaeus nodded slowly and watched the other man fumbling through the room. He could only imagine how much they missed each other. Lunaan at least needed some kind of victory before going to war against the deities. "Let's go then...", he whispered and slowly followed Silthos by getting dressed.