Aftermath [malexmale]

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

I teleported back home the second I had helped Sept clean things up in the palace, and dropped by Akin's place to explain to Hannibal what happened after I sent him home.

I came home to the warm smell of Thai food and the sound of someone playing my Avenged Sevenfold CDs in the stereo system connected to the television. I cocked my head at that. I didn't think that was Dorean's type of music. It seemed too loud for his sensitive ears. I wandered into the kitchen where Dorean was standing over the island counter, wearing one of my t-shirts and his boxers, while drizzling some kind of sauce on the fried noodles and veggies he'd whipped up. He sensed my presence and his whole face lit up as he set the bottle down.

"Xenon, you're home! Look, I made food! Oh," He pulled up short, face scrunching up in concern as he came around the island, "You have blood on your shirt." I stiffened and looked down. Sure enough, the blood from where Theo had been stabbed was splattered across the front of my shirt.

"You didn't hurt no one, did you?" Dorean asked, eyeing me suspiciously. I frowned.

"More like protected someone. I guess." That made him smile. His tail did that excited twirl it did whenever he was pleased with something, wings fluttering before settling down again. I changed my shirt with my powers to a plain black v-neck and Dorean brighened even more. He touched my chest, like he couldn't resist before he pulled me over to the island counter, pushing a plate of warm steaming food toward me. My stomach growled intensely and I wet my lips before taking a bite.

And it tasted like heaven.

"You're really good at cooking." I commented past a mouthful of food. Dorean beamed.

"Thank you! I was reading them books on it and it was real specific, so I just followed what it told me to do. I like cookbooks! They so helpful."

"Indeed, they are."

"Can you cook?"

"Not really," I admitted with a shrug, twirling the noodles around my fork, "I never really had to. I didn't eat much before you showed up." Dorean wrinkled his nose at that and cocked his head.

"Then we make new rule," He stated, making me arch a brow at him, "Every day we eat together. No matter what."

"Breakfast, lunch, and dinner?"

"Yes. And we learn to cook together, yes? It'll be fun," He added, the excitement showing in the way his tail twirled and coiled around the bar stool, "We can learn new things and you can teach me big words in the cookbook! Cuz, I'm not sure what alfredo... fet... fet-something is. But we can learn that together! We can make for dinner." I smiled at that. He seemed so excited about the smallest things. It would take some getting used to to have someone so cheery around me. I was used to being alone, unless you count occasional hallucinations while I was heavily intoxicated. But even those were mere haunting memories. I wouldn't have to sleep alone and wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweat.

Dorean would be there for me.

Is this how Callias felt about Dextius?

A sliver of pain coursed through me at that. I had known Callias favored the Atlantean prince, but I had never thought they were lovers, and so serious about it too. To make Dextius an immortal consort for himself... Callias was taking a huge risk. Atlanteans were far more strict about that than the Greeks. The Greeks happily gave up Ganymede to Zeus and none of the other gods made protest. Unless you count Hera, but she protested everything her husband did.

But Atlanteans... While it was a great honor to be favored by a god, to be favored so much as to become an immortal consort? It was a risk. Callias had put Dextius in jeopardy the moment he laid eyes on him. Other gods, our siblings, had seen it instantly and taking advantage of it. Callias should have known that would happen.