Below the Surface, Above the Clouds

Brothers ~ MorpheusxHamilton

AN: So this little snippet takes place a few months after "Feathers and Blood", and will hopefully give a little background to Hamilton and Morpheus and why they broke up. Or even got together in the first place.

Hamilton

I had had a very taxing day. The war may have ended, but clearly some Greed demons didn't know that. I had spent the entire day trying to halt skirmishes between Greed and Pride demons in Italy. The last thing I needed now was an argument with the demon that was both my boyfriend and my brother.

'Boyfriend' was perhaps too kind a term.

King Morpheus of Sloth was lounging on a sofa in my private quarters, wearing only a navy silk robe he hadn't bothered to tie up. He lay there, completely exposed, content with the effect he had on me.

Immature, I thought derisively. Desperate for attention.

But I couldn't deny the way my breath hitched when I saw him, nor the pleasant ache in my lower stomach, a longing that travelled all the way down to my rapidly growing erection.

"Morpheus," I said tightly. "I don't recall inviting you into my bedroom."

He grinned up at me, jumping to his feet and beckoning me towards him. "Come now, brother dear. Admit you wanted me."

I couldn't help but smile. Morpheus had the rare ability to create genuine happiness within me. As the oldest demon, I always felt like I was responsible for my younger siblings, but I never had that with Morpheus. I knew my brother could take care of himself, and then some; he could take care of me. It was a nice feeling.

"Alright," I acquiesced. "I wanted you."

I threw my arms around him, pressing our lips together. His were whisper-soft, while I knew mine were rough. I enjoyed the contrast.

He closed his eyes, and I quickly did the same as our kiss deepened. My hands roamed across his bare chest, soaking in the smooth feel of his beautiful dark skin. Then my fingers went into his hair, strikingly white. Finally, I settled for cupping his face, pressing his mouth even closer to mine.

"Had a long day?" he asked sympathetically, pecking my lips once more.

"You have no idea," I muttered. I slung my arm around his waist, guiding him towards the bed. "Why can't Plutus and his demons understand that the war is over?" I griped, naming the King of Greed.

We laid down, Morpheus propping himself up on his side. He stroked my hair lazily, making me close my eyes. Laying here, in my comfortable feather bed, being caressed by my lover, it almost made up for the suck fest of earlier.

The Uncivil War had been taxing. Many of my Pride demons had died, and even more from the other side. My younger siblings saw each other as mortal enemies, but I didn't see them that way. To me, they were still family. I had been in a relationship with Johanna only weeks for the war. Her losses were also mine.

I could still remember Lucifer speaking to me when Lyssios had just been born. "You are responsible for him, child," he had told me, all those millennia ago. "Take care of your brother."

I had sworn to obey. My brothers and sisters counted only the losses from their Rings, oblivious to the fact that all I saw was devastation. All I saw was my oath to protect them, falling apart. The only one who I couldn't bring myself to pity was Luke. I knew, deep inside my heart, I loved him. But I couldn't allow those feelings to resurface.

Really, the only good thing about the War was Morpheus. In a fit of frustration, I had kissed him in front of everyone, and he had been more than willing to follow up.  "I love you," I said now, bluntly.

He grinned. "I love you, too, Hammy."

We made love that night. Long, and slow, and sweet. It was enough to make me forget, at least for a few hours. But after, when we were both trying to catch our breaths, drowsily falling asleep, that was when it began to end.

Morpheus snuggled up to me. "I'm cold," he complained.

I snickered. "Clothes would help," I teased. "We're about the same size. Look through my drawers."

"Don't mind if I do," he purred, leaving my arms.

I watched him stumble out of bed, unashamedly admiring his naked body. He shuffled through the top drawer, the one that held all my underwear. I closed my eyes, and I think I did fall asleep briefly. But the moment was jarred by a sudden: "What is this?"

Morpheus' voice was shrill enough that it startled me awake. "What?" I blurted.

Oh. That. It was Luke's silver circlet. I had forget I'd hidden it there, which sucked, because Morpheus looked furious.

"You still haven't given it back?" he demanded. "What the fuck?"

I scowled. "It was the price I set for my allegiance," I protested. "I'm not giving it back just because we won."

He stormed over to me, towering over my laying body. "He is your brother! You can't steal from him."

Now I was irritated. I stood up so I could look down on him, instead of vice versa. "Trust me, he's stolen more than enough from me."

"Like what?" he challenged. "Damn it, Hammy, how long are you going to hold this grudge? How many thousands of years are going to pass with you pretending to hate the brother you know you care about?"

"Please," I said dismissively. "Luke is a little brat. And why is this suddenly all my fault? He's the one who started everything!"

Morpheus looked as if I had slapped him. "The brat is my kid brother," he said coolly. "And yours too."

"You sure you're angry because he's your brother, or because you've fucked him too?" I knew the words were bitter and petty, but honestly, I didn't care.

"Both," he said boldly. "And you can't fool me, Ham. I know you care about him. Do you honestly expect me to believe that the little boy you raised from infancy means nothing to you?"

We glared at each other for a few minutes, Morpheus still clutching the crown. 

"I'm not giving it back," I said finally. My pride wouldn't allow it, but I didn't say that out loud.

"Fine," he snapped angrily. I watched as he got dressed quickly, then left the room.

We didn't break up that night. But it was the start of a series of arguments, fights that started with a point and ended in meaningless insults. Finally, after about a month of Hell, he calmly told me he was done.

And I was miserable.