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“The dawn cannot break without the night, you see, and thereby the moon’s peak signals earth’s most beautiful and divine hours. Would you not agree?”
Ares waited, but Nyx merely stared at him, her otherworldly eyes glazed and dull.
“I suppose,” she said.
The tide of the battle shifted. Ares had arrived in the House of Hades sure this would be the time, sure this would be his moment of victory. He’d rehearsed the lines over and over (“more luminous than the moon itself,” “a depth the heavens might only dream of,” “boundless glory gleaned through a fated union”), practicing with Dionysus and Aphrodite until everything was absolutely perfect.
And still Nyx watched him with brazen disinterest and cold boredom. Her dispassionate frown cut him deeper than any sword, leaving wounds even Olympus could not heal.
Why? Why did she reject him yet? He was the God of War, a figure who inspired fear, awe and the sweet bloom of resplendent violence. The Night would make him complete, add one final glamour he could not achieve on his own. For what made mortals tremble more than fathomless Night, endless oblivion stretching far beyond their fragile, finite shells?
Yet her expression did not change and her eyes did not glow, muted by her palpable disinterest.
“My Lady,” Ares said, a final gambit, “do you not think our natures compliment each other?”
A smile picked at one side of her mouth. “Hm perhaps.”
That was something. A chance, if he could seize it. “Let me prove it to you then. I shall devote my whole being to your pleasure, Queen. I shall twine our very souls together such that you will know how Night calls out to War, seeking a kindred spirit in our beautiful dance.”
“Mhm,” Nyx said.
Her cheek still rested against her fist. Nyx flickered her eyes to the side, as though hearing or seeing something just at the edge of her senses. Ares followed the gaze but did not find anything of note, just more of the bleak stone halls of the House of Hades. They sat in a small chamber away from the main bustle of the House, a chamber that contained little but a table so seldom used dust coated the surface.
Nyx trailed her finger through the dust, drawing senseless patterns like the stars splattered through the surface world’s sky.
Ares could stand it no longer. He shoved back his chair, nearly toppling it in his haste, and hurried around the table. Ares kneeled before Nyx and dragged her hand into his. A flicker of annoyance crossed her face, but she did not pull away.
“Mother of Night,” Ares said, “tell me how I might make my devotion to your bliss absolutely clear. Tell me how I might dispel any doubt that lingers within you.”
Nyx hesitated and Ares’s breath caught in his chest. For a horrible moment, Ares feared she would deny him and send him away. Then her eyes flickered away again, narrowing slightly. He did not know what she perceived, but it curled that smile on her lips in a way that sent a surge into Ares’s belly, a tight knot shot through with anticipation.
“Actually, I believe I know a way,” Nyx said.
“Anything,” Ares said.
She leaned down and he trembled as her mild scent encased him. Her hair shone like entire constellations. Her eyes delved deeper than the farthest reaches of the universe. Her skin glowed like shimmering moonlight.
“Pleasure my sons,” Nyx said. “If you can please them, I will let you please me.”
Ares’s breath stopped dead in his chest, the words churning over and over in his mind. Her sons. Well, they were certainly lovely enough in their own rights, but was that truly what she desired? Even among gods, it was … an odd request.
It didn’t matter. If this was the path Ares had to walk, he would walk it.
“Yes,” he said.
#
The sounds beyond the door chilled Ares to his core. He hesitated but Nyx nudged his shoulder.
Ares took a breath. Sometimes in war one could only prevail via bold, brazen action. He pushed open the door.
It was difficult to make sense of the thing writhing in the dark beyond. It looked for a moment like a storm cloud coiling in around itself.
Then it moaned.
Nyx shoved Ares deeper into the chamber and shut the door behind them. Gloom descended, a touch of the realm of Night itself, but speckled with swirls of purple and navy. Ares’s feet touched something soft – cushions and pillows strewn about to create a feather soft flooring.
As Ares adjusted to the dark, the thing writhing about coalesced into human shapes, two bodies with skin like dusty starlight. They faced opposite directions, each with the other in their mouth. Hypnos’s lanky legs were all Ares could really see of him with Thanatos hunched over him and bobbing down his cock.
Even knowing this is what he came here for, Ares paused a moment, mind still untangling the sight before him.
“Boys,” Nyx said, “Ares is here to entertain you.”
Thanatos stopped, looking up with Hypnos’s cock still in his mouth. His golden eyes blazed bright, brighter than Ares had seen them on any battlefield. It sent a shiver down Ares’s back. Never in his life had he questioned his ability to do … well, anything. Certainly not this. Yet as Thanatos eased up off Hypnos, watching him with those golden eyes, Ares wondered if he’d ever fucked in all his long years.
Hypnos must have done something because Thanatos gasped and looked down.
“M-mother,” Thanatos said. “We are … busy.”
“Yes, I know how you two occupy yourselves,” Nyx said. “He will join you. Don’t worry. Ares is eager to delight you both.”
Hypnos shuffled out from under Thanatos to sit behind him. Somehow, sex made his eyes even glassier. His eyelids drooped. A lopsided grin stretched his lips wide. He was the stark inverse of his brother, all lanky, lean length where Thanatos piled on muscle.
“Hey there, Lord Ares,” Hypnos said. “Wow, imagine seeing you here.”
“Hypnos,” Than said, a low warning.
Hypnos hugged him from behind. With them both completely naked, Ares relied on the contrast of Hypnos’s willowy limbs compared to Thanatos’s lean muscle to tell them apart.
“Aw, come on, Than,” Hypnos said while pressed against his back. “I’ll have to do even less work if he joins in.”
“You were already just lying there.”
“You seemed fine with it,” Hypnos said. He snuck a hand down, stroking Thanatos idly while still watching Ares.
Well, they were certainly an enticing sight. Ares could not deny that, even if the twins were not his true objective. And it seemed at least one was eager to have him.
Hypnos swiped his free hand across Thanatos’s neck. A collar materialized in the wake of his fingers, complete with a leash trailing to the floor. Hypnos did the same to his own throat next.
“Well, come on then,” Hypnos said. “Can’t make it much easier for you.”
Ares stuttered toward the collared brothers, legs numb beneath him. Thanatos had turned to Hypnos and was muttering to him between kisses.
“Only want you,” Thanatos murmured.
Hypnos held him at bay with a single finger. “Shh, you have me. We’re just gonna let him play too.”
Ares stood over the pair. Hypnos smirked up at him, eyes wandering unabashed. In contrast, Thanatos glared, skeptical and annoyed.
It was time to end their insolence.
Ares snatched the leashes, yanking hard enough to bring both brothers up onto their knees before him.
“You speak so flippantly,” Ares said, “yet here you are beneath me, as indeed this whole realm is beneath me. You ought to be honored that I offer the gift of my presence.”
Thanatos snorted. Hypnos’s grin only grew. Fingers tickled up Ares’s thigh, creeping higher and higher until Ares smacked Hypnos’s hand away.
“You will touch what I allow you to touch,” Ares said.
He tossed the leashes aside to begin the business of discarding his armor and clothing. Best to get to this quickly, if the mischief in Hypnos’s eyes was any indication of the troubles Ares might face. Yet even in the brief blink it took for Ares to snap his fingers and banish his clothing and armor to a heap on the floor, Hypnos and Thanatos returned to each other, hands wandering as they made out before him.
“Mmm, Than,” Hypnos whined.
“You are mine,” Thanatos growled. “Only mine. I don’t care who else is here.”
“I know, Than. I know.”
“They do not seem particularly interested in you,” Nyx said somewhere behind Ares. “You ought to correct that.”
Her words sent Ares into motion. He had to take control of this before Hypnos and Thanatos destroyed his best chance yet with Nyx.
Ares dropped to the outrageously cushioned floor, yanking Hypnos away from Thanatos. Hypnos barely had time for a startled yelp before Ares tossed him onto his back and shoved a finger inside him. Hypnos bucked from the sudden intrusion, shivering a moment later and swirling his hips.
“Is that your grand plan?” Nyx said. “A finger. I don’t think that’s going to be enough to satisfy, Ares.”
It wasn’t his grand plan, just a stopgap, something to turn the tide of this evening while he sorted out a better method. But already Thanatos glared at him and Hypnos stopped his squirming, actually yawning as Ares pumped a single finger inside him.
“Hypnos, darling, are you bored?” Nyx said. “Don’t stay awake for his sake. Do as you please.”
Ares grit his teeth. Hypnos would not sleep through this. Absolutely not.
He removed his finger brusquely and crawled around on the pillows. Hypnos’s hole had been wet. Surely they had some sort of...
There, a vial of oil. Mostly depleted but enough remained for Ares’s purposes. He paused only long enough to uncork it and stroke some onto his cock, yet even in that time Hypnos and Thanatos returned to each other. When Ares next looked, Thanatos had two fingers inside Hypnos, who moaned into his mouth as their lips pressed together.
Ares stormed back to the brothers, tugging Thanatos away by his leash.
“No,” he growled.
Thanatos just glared.
Ares kept him at bay by wielding that leash, but it made lining his cock up against Hypnos a difficult operation. Hypnos squirmed and giggled, amused by Ares’s struggles.
“He does not seem very adept with that little toy of his,” Nyx said.
Hypnos laughed. “Haha maybe not. He can’t even figure out how to get it in.”
“Such a shame. Seems a rather inadequate experience.”
Her words burned Ares. He released Thanatos, risking him diving back on Hypnos for the moment. It freed up Ares’s hands so he could pin Hypnos down and push his cock against him. This time, it nudged inside and Hypnos moaned, arching into the intrusion.
“Finally found it,” Nyx said.
Ares tried to ignore the derision thick in her words and bury himself deeper into Hypnos, but, as he’d feared, Thanatos set out to make that difficult. He returned to Hypnos’s mouth and Hypnos wrapped his arms around Thanatos’s neck in response. They made out as though Ares wasn’t even there, let alone deep inside Hypnos.
“Brats.” Ares yanked Thanatos’s leash, forcing him away from Hypnos and drawing him to Ares’s mouth instead. Hypnos made some high, whiny nose, but Ares only kissed Thanatos harder, biting at his bottom lip until Thanatos whined as well.
“How rude,” Nyx said, “denying you what you clearly want so badly, Hypnos.”
Hypnos whimpered like a dog without its favorite toy.
“Do you want him back?” Nyx said.
“Yes,” Hypnos said.
“Does it please you to have Thanatos taken away?”
“No, mother,” Hypnos said.
“Well.”
There was finality to that word, a command. Ares released Thanatos, whose bottom lip bore a garish burst of color from all Ares’s tugging. Thanatos narrowed his eyes, sparing a moment to snarl at Ares before heading back down to Hypnos.
“A whole cock in him and still Hypnos reacts more to lips he’s tasted a thousand times.” Nyx tsked. She might as well have stabbed Ares right through the heart.
Ares pushed Hypnos’s legs wider and positioned himself on the cushions. The padded flooring made it difficult to gain any real purchase. All this softness and repose did not suit Ares, an indulgence clearly concocted by Hypnos.
And Hypnos was certainly indulging. He tugged at Thanatos’s hair while their mouths worked furiously. Ares held Hypnos by the thighs, dragging back slowly and deliberately. He pushed against Hypnos’s tight walls, grinding his way back in, willing Hypnos to feel every inch squeezing into him anew.
Hypnos moaned, but the sound went right into Thanatos’s mouth. He still seemed more occupied with Than, even as Ares found a rhythm and thrust into Hypnos harder on every return. Hypnos’s thin, lanky body shifted atop the cushions with every press of Ares’s hips and still he ignored Ares as though the God of War wasn’t even there.
“You seem to be losing, Ares,” Nyx said.
She hung just over his shoulder, a looming shadow, a specter of his doom. No matter how hard he plowed into Hypnos, none of his efforts drew any attention toward himself. What did it take to satisfy this little God of Sleep?
“Thanatos, you seem rather bored,” Nyx said. “How unfortunate to be interrupted and receive nothing in return.”
Thanatos did not respond, too busy shoving his tongue in Hypnos’s mouth, but Ares could not dismiss Nyx’s cruel observation. Even while swaying into Hypnos, Ares licked and sucked his own fingers, still faintly oily. Thanatos was within reach, up on his knees so he could lean down to Hypnos. That meant that when Ares stretched out a hand, he could rub his fingers over Thanatos’s hole.
Thanatos gasped, pulling away for a moment to glance back at Ares.
“Ooh, Than, I think he’s gonna do you too,” Hypnos said, petting at Thanatos’s face.
“Well, he’s going to try, at least,” Nyx said.
Ares would do more than try. By all the gods, he would defy her skepticism.
Before Thanatos could get in his own quip, Ares drove a finger into him. He only pumped it a couple times before squeezing in a second one and driving them into Thanatos.
That drew a groan between gritted teeth. Not ideal, perhaps, but it was something. Now if only Ares could go on fucking Hypnos while also fingering Thanatos...
He pored himself into the task, moving hand and hips in sync in an attempt to keep the focus on him. Thanatos responded beautifully, arching his back and pushing against Ares’s hand. A curl of Ares’s fingers knocked free a moan, long and lusty, and Ares repeated the motion, giving Thanatos no reprieve.
“Than,” Hypnos said, “you look so pretty.”
He reached again for Thanatos. Ares scooped up both leashes before Hypnos shifted around too much. It was a delicate balance, fucking them both and holding their leashes in his free hand, but Ares was determined to maintain control now that he’d found it. He pulled those leashes just tight enough that both brothers felt Ares at the other end of the line, just hard enough to be a threat.
“My good boys,” Nyx said. “You do look rather happy. Tell me, is he satisfying you?”
Ares trembled to know the answer. He pounded harder with both hips and fingers, a final effort before the verdict.
“H-harder,” Hypnos said. “I want..”
He reached up, groping at empty air, and Ares’s stomach plummeted into his gut.
Thanatos did not respond at all except to grab Ares’s wrist and pull his fingers out of him.
“You cannot please him,” Thanatos said. “Release me so I can.”
No. No, it could not go on that way. That would be failure and Nyx was still watching.
“How sad,” Nyx said.
No!
Ares would not concede this easily. He wrenched Thanatos by his collar, yanking well hard enough to choke as he brought Thanatos close to his face.
“You will lie there obediently,” Ares snarled. “And you will not get back up until you’ve known pleasure so great you weep from it.”
Thanatos tried to sneer, even as he choked. Ares shoved him back down, face to the pillows and ass in the air.
Hypnos shimmied his hips as though vying for Ares’s attention, but he’d have to wait. Ares summoned a blade, one short enough that he could slice along his own thigh, a swift, shallow swipe, but good enough to make blood bead up on his skin like gems. Ares tossed away the blade and ran his fingertips through the blood, then rubbed those fingers on Than, first around his hole and then back inside, squeezing in against his resistance.
Thanatos shuddered instantly as Ares pushed those blood-coated fingers inside him, gifting him the very essence of the God of War. Ares nearly smiled.
He pumped his fingers inside Thanatos, monitoring every hitch of breath, every minute reaction. Thanatos likely tried to restrain himself, even in this, but Ares’s fingers were having their desired effect. Thanatos didn’t struggle to get up anymore, rocking back against Ares’s hand.
“Yes, my associate, that’s it,” Ares said. “You pretend otherwise, but you have a lust for blood, for destruction. I will satisfy you in this. Be at ease.”
“You will try, at least,” Nyx muttered behind him.
Ares swatted aside her latest jab. He needed to get his hips moving again. Hypnos was watching Thanatos more than Ares and that simply would not do.
Ares jerked his hips forward, driving into Hypnos even as his hand went on working inside Thanatos. Hypnos moaned, arching atop the cushions. Good. He was a far simpler creature than the rest of his family, more eager for pleasure. Perhaps he would aid Ares in his quest.
Still, it was no easy matter, fucking with hands and cock both, pleasuring two people at once, coordinating every thrust so that neither of the brothers went ignored or saw their arousal wane.
Ares curled his fingers and a cry burst out of Thanatos. Well, that was of great assistance indeed.
Ares refused to relent, curling every time he pumped his fingers, pressing against that place within Thanatos that made him moan and jerk. He bucked like a spirited earthly stallion, but Ares had broken far wilder creatures than Thanatos.
“Mmm,” Hypnos said, “he looks nice when you do that.”
Encouraging, but the fact that Hypnos could speak so coherently concerned Ares. He kept his fingers curled down, pressing ruthlessly inside Thanatos, and for a moment focused his attentions on Hypnos, gripping his thigh to slam into him. It knocked the words from his throat, replacing them with yelps and groans.
Ares synchronized his hand and hips, moving them in time, giving neither brother a breath of relief. They wriggled and squirmed. Hypnos locked his ankles together behind Ares’s broad back, rolling his hips.
“Hypnos, you’re working so very hard,” Nyx said. “I’ve rarely seen you exert such effort.”
“F-feels good,” Hypnos said.
“Be that as it may, I did not bring him here to make you work,” Nyx said. “Please, do not help him overly much.”
Help him. Help him? Sweat rolled down the sides of Ares’s face and coated his back. He grunted with effort as he tried to keep his whole body in motion. Muscles strained from being locked in position for so long.
He grit his teeth, growling as he threw yet more force into his thrusts. Hypnos moaned high and sweet, tilting his head back, gripping Ares tighter with his legs. Despite Nyx’s admonishment, he met Ares’s thrusts, hungry for the slap of his body driving deep.
Nyx huffed. “Too forgiving. You are too gentle with him, Hypnos.”
“Feels … better like this,” Hypnos said.
Nyx tsked but did not stress the point further.
That was one taken care of. Now if only Ares could see to Thanatos simultaneously.
He let his hips move in an automatic rhythm, but focused more attention on his fingers. Ares let up for a moment, drawing his fingers back, and Thanatos sighed. Ares squirmed a third finger in, pushing, stretching, demanding even as Thanatos groaned and gritted. This one was not coated with blood, with Ares’s very essence, but Thanatos trembled all the same when it nudged inside. Ares slid those fingers deeper, slow and intentional, determined to make Thanatos feel every little bit of stretch.
“Good job, Than,” Hypnos murmured.
His eyelids drooped, heavy with lust. He tugged on Thanatos’s leash, pulling him closer so they could join their lips as Ares went on rocking into both of them. Their moans mingled, complimentary high and low notes that rang out together. The sound stirred Ares, urging him on. He could do this. He was nearly there. The brothers looked very close to bliss. All he had to do was persist.
They were muttering to each other, the little fools. Ares slammed hips and hand forward, driving deep, interrupting their chatter. That was better. They ought to have no breath to speak, no breath to kiss, no breath for anything but shouting their pleasure.
A pleasure Ares himself would soon share.
They made for a lovely sight, swirls of starlight confined into comprehensible forms. As they quivered toward the edge, dissolving to whimpers and groans, Ares moved not just for their gratification but for his own as well. He was so very close. His ultimate victory lay within his grasp. Surely, Nyx saw their frenzy of passion and the way they all writhed together. Surely, she smelled the thick perfume of their arousal fogging this little chamber.
Thanatos broke first, shivering on Ares’s fingers, grunting as he soiled the pillows beneath him. He crawled away from Ares’s fingers immediately, shirking the over-stimulation, but that only freed Ares to turn his full attention on Hypnos. He grabbed both thin thighs and yanked Hypnos closer, slamming into him a few last times as Hypnos arched and cried out.
“You are not required to come,” Nyx droned.
But Hypnos did, splattering onto his torso and chest without Ares even touching him. The way he arched, the flush in his cheeks – it rendered him as beautiful as a garden in winter, the dying blooms just peaking beneath the snow. Water tracked down his cheeks, silvery trails like frost lacing the edges of petals.
Ares followed hastily, barely caring for his own need. It was enough to see both Hypnos and Thanatos relieved of their desire. When he pulled out of Hypnos, spent and sweating, the brothers shifted toward each other, draping limp limbs over each other. Even Thanatos’s cheeks were damp, though he tried to hide his face against Hypnos’s shoulder.
Ares sat back, letting out a long, satisfied sigh. Thanatos and Hypnos hardly looked conscious. Filth dried on their bodies, yet they lay there barely stirring aside from quieting breaths. Surely, this was enough. It had to be enough.
Footsteps approached. Ares tried to stand, but the sudden motion made him woozy and he fell right back down. It left him craning his neck to look up at Nyx as she loomed over him.
His heart fluttered. Surely, she would see how blissful her sons were, how peaceful. Surely, she’d heard their joyful cries and seen their ecstatic tears. She could not miss how he’d given his whole body for their pleasure. Surely, she would reward him.
“Nyx,” he said.
She smiled down at him and Ares’s whole body tingled with hope, with wild elation. Nyx leaned down, taking his chin in her hand. His eyes drooped shut as he prepared to receive her mouth.
She stopped just short of his lips.
“An admirable effort,” she said, “but still a failure.”
She drew away, leaving him cold and shocked, like she’d doused him in water. Nyx turned her back to Ares, abandoning him on the mound of pillows with her sleeping sons as she exited the chamber, out of reach once more.