With Blood shall come Desire (MxM)

☽ Chapter Eighteen ☾

𝕿he redhead immediately started to walk to the horizon where he saw the sun glittering with its last rays in the water. He followed the feeling of his mother watching over and protecting him. Deep inside him, Silthos hoped to talk to her again, but he knew that wasn't a possibility. They reached the sea and the redhead slowly walked into the water with his clothes on, just to feel the coldness of the liquid around him.

Aristaeus followed him calmly and sat down in the sand. He wasn't a big fan of the depths of the ocean, but he quite enjoyed watching Silthos. The sunrays hit his skin and made it glow like a bronze amulet. The wet clothes clinged to him and exposed Silthos' lean body. The god of war watched silently. He was admiring the man and remembered his dream again. They danced, they kissed, they admired. Would Silthos' lips feel the same if he claimed them in this life? The god of love and desire has never been kissed, Aristaeus knew it. There were myths and legends about the god that he spared himself until he found someone he would truly love. So what would it feel like to claim those innocent lips and make them his?

However, beneath his youthful facade, the god of love and desire trembled at the thought of love. Despite his intimate understanding of its depths and the power it wielded, he recoiled from its touch. It unsettled and overwhelmed him to a point that he thought that the experience of love would kill him. To Silthos, love resembled a sweet kiss tainted with lethal poison.

Aristaeus found this innocence fitting for Silthos. It was his biggest power.

Silthos stepped closer to the sea. He felt a pull towards it, wanting to be surrounded and devoured by the soft waves of the ocean. Slowly, his feet found their way even deeper into the water, walking further until the water reached his chest. The redhead leaned down to see his own reflection - his cat eyes with little red moons dancing in them; his fiery red hair and brown bronze skin. Slowly, the image was distorted by the waves and changed its reflector. His reflection began to underline more and more the similarities with his mother and for a brief moment he thought he could actually see her.

"Hey Mom. I hope... you're okay. I miss you."

After a few more seconds, the redhead leaned back again and went back to the beach, the clothes clinging almost like desperate souls to his body. The ends of his hair now appeared almost black. "Are you watching something special?" The whole situation lay heavy on the redhead's chest, but he tried his best to get their lighty conversations back.

Aristaeus looked up at the god, a few drops landing on him. "I sure am.", he whispered. His heart felt like a stone and for the first time he could empathise with someone again. Aristaeus saw that something laid heavy on Silthos and he didn't want him to feel it alone. The god of war stood up and took off his coat. He put it over Silthos' shoulders and looked at him. "Don't catch a cold..."

"We are gods we can't catch-" Silthos stopped himself and looked at the other god surprised. Aristaeus showed affection because he empathised with him. This small act made the redhead pull the jacket even closer and a little smile appeared on his lips. "We should go to our new home, I really need a hot bath."

Aristaeus nodded and guided the way. Although now his upper body was completely exposed, he didn't mind the wind and cold. Of course it catched some looks of curious people but other than that no one bothered them.

The house was on a small street up the hill where the buildings weren't close together anymore. As soon as they reached it, Aristaeus pulled out the key he was given and opened the front door.

Silthos examined their new place a bit more. It was a well-chosen hiding spot. Not too shady to already appear like a spot for hiding, but not too wealthy. All in all the house looked really cosy. It was a small house, made out of dark red bricks with two floors. The second floor only contained a kind of attic, which was used as a large bedroom. Flowers were placed near the front door. Blue daisies on one side and craspedia on the other. The redhead was familiar with many types of different flowers. His mother always loved to present him all the different kinds of beautiful plants, explaining their function and name origins the mortals came up with.

Aristaeus got rid of his hat and shoes, before slowly walking to the bathroom. "Come here, take a bath.", he called over his shoulder and started to fill the bathtub. Aristaeus didn't even notice that he started doing things for Silthos not because he needed to, but because he wanted to. "I'll need a bath myself...", he whispered to himself and got goosebumps when he touched the hot water. He had been shirtless the whole way.

Silthos came back from examining the house and looked over his shoulder. "Your body is freezing... you should be the one more careful ‚to not catch a cold." He sank his fingertips into the water to test its temperature. The redhead closed his eyes for a second imagining the warmth of the water all around him. He was craving for a hot bath for days. "It's warm enough... take a bath, I will make you some tea as well. Did you ever test how robust those humanoid bodies are?"

Aristaeus grabbed his wrist before he could leave. "No, but I don't think we should overuse them. You go first.", he said sternly. "And don't you dare talk back. Undress and get inside the water."

The god of love and desire felt how a shiver ran down his spine as he heard those strong words from Aristaeus. It felt tempting. But Silthos cared more about his well-being at the moment and also was too stubborn to give in. It felt nice playing with fire. "No.", the redhead said and his voice darkened slightly. Silthos pushed Aristaeus down to sit on the edge of the bathtub. "Your body is cold like a corpse. Warm yourself up, your humanoid body is too marvellous to end." He leaned forward to a moment with a slight grin on his lips. "Or should I join you?"

Aristaeus clenched his jaw and looked up at the god. Suddenly, he started to unbuckle his belt, before he stood up to get rid of his trousers. If Silthos liked playing then he would play along. Someone needed to show this god that his seduction could hit back. "Undress then.", he rasped and looked down at the god.