chaleur

dionysus’ subtle gestures were divine, he did not touch ares, but his fingers were dangerously close to doing so. his gestures were borderline sexual, from keander’s point of view anyways. if he did not know better, he would say that dionysus was flirting with his half-brother. and that would not be completely unheard of, the gods enjoyed each other’s company, and for them it was not considered a crime. keander made a mental note to remind them that if they wish to pass a ‘brothers’ in the mortal world, dionysus has to keep his hands to himself. maybe he was imagining things, dionysus’ presence was making him borderline delusional. one second, the room was still. and in the next, keander saw them making out wildly on the couch. the visions were similar to those he had before the god’s arrival, so he was almost certain he was being manipulated. dionysus smirked at some point, after keander gave him a long stare. he did not say anything, well, not out loud. keander swore he heard him say like what you see in a whisper. maybe he was losing his mind after all.

when ares got tipsy, keander nearly expected him to throw a fit. he did not know why he imagined him to be a violent drunk – wait, he knew why. but ares was incredibly peaceful, he was even entertaining his beautiful brother. that wine must be good. when he was called over, he obeyed. keander was feeling quite shy to be that close to two powerful presences, it was messing with his head. he did not know if his skin turned red or not, in this moment he was close enough to lock eyes with dionysus. and he regretted looking at him. the god was giving him wild visions, heavily sexual. a threesome – he wanted to scream. the problem with dionysus’ visions was that keander could feel everything, and he was aroused, and angry at the same time.

at the mention of the divine blood, dionysus raised his eyebrow. he would have blamed ares’ idea on his presence – it must have maddened his poor brother. however, he knew his brother’s ways, and he was always up to something dangerous. his idea was not only dangerous, it was plain stupid – but it made sense. keander was not fully human, so he should survive with the designated consequences. dionysus was not one to deny fun, he could not wait to get his hands all over this plan, and keander. in a not very sexual way, of course. mayhap he smirked at the thought.

“incredibly chaotic,” dionysus commented, and gave ares a charming smile. “sounds exactly like you,” he directed his attention at keander. “and what do you have to say about it?”

keander was taken off guard. four eyes on him, it was not the way he wanted to die. he looked at ares though, his attention was solely on him – sort of. dionysus was annoyingly persistent, and keander could not seem to resist him. this only made him want the ichor more, he needed the power to defy the gods – or at least these two stupidly attractive ones. his flame was burning – keander was nothing but ambitious. he already agreed to participate, so he will see it through. what if it is dangerous? he lived for danger. he gave ares an acknowledging smirk, he was on board with the idea. he felt suddenly confident, holding his willpower strongly – kind of, anyways. keander wanted to answer with ‘anything works’, but dionysus cut him off.

he got closer, his entire aura made keander feel incredibly dizzy. dionysus leaned close enough to press a chaste kiss on ares’ cheek, he whispered something. keander swore he heard ‘wake up’, or something similar, in greek. dionysus lifted his wine spell off with a kiss? keander was very confused, and he did not know why dionysus suddenly decided to stop the entertainment.

“he cannot consume your ichor when my wine is in your body. that would kill him for sure. this should sober you up, but you will have to wait for the wine to leave your system. should be quick, you are a god after all,” he smiled, and keander had to look away. he beat himself up again, dionysus was just so hard to resist. he wondered what it would feel like if aphrodite was sitting right there – perhaps keander would have fallen on her lap like a lifeless doll, swooning like an idiot. if the wine was that powerful on a god, keander thanked his resistance for not tasting it.

“and your divine skin,” dionysus continued, only barely touching ares’ cheek with the back of his fingers. “is not a mortal cup, brother. I think the mortal shall have the ichor in a mortal item. perhaps a ritual is needed. how lucky of you to have me, the master of all rituals,” dionysus words were so alluring, they made the cats snuggle closer, and purr for him. dionysus broke the closeness, because he knew once he did, ares will completely recover from his short moment of drunkenness.

“I have many forms, warlock,” he said with a sweet voice – he was so much more pleasant to listen to, unlike his brother. keander looked embarrassed at the floor, he was mainly uncomfortable because his eagerness. “I found out that people are a lot more attracted to me if I look younger, and sober. well, I think it has had an effect on you too,” his eyes glimmered, and his lips curled into a smirk. keander could feel his cheeks burning – only now, he was certain dionysus was messing with his body. he looked up, cheeks a bit pink given his fair skin, but he stood his ground.

“let us not forget god of madness. I think that one trait is more important,” keander’s feisty response made dionysus smile. he did not find any bit of impertinence in his statement, and he was known for his rather calm personality. however, he was definitely not someone you could mess with – his wrath was worse than ares’ quick angered responses. it ran deep, and his methods were insane. keander did not try to go against ares’ statement command, so he complied, and pretended to be a ‘good boy’. though the presence of dionysus was making his entire body burn – and he could feel his heart beating fast again.

dionysus turned his attention to ares, his smile mischievous, yet of a beauty only aphrodite could conquer. he really did go all out to look like this, to be attractive, to have a face that will be remembered. gamma curled next to him purring, and delta sat on his lap like it was her home. he was fairly amused by his brother’s words, and his need to have faithful followers. dionysus could relate to the latter, he adored having people at his feet, worshipping him. but the warlock was different, he could tell. he was able to sway his heart quickly, make him infatuated with ares in a minute. his resistance was admirable, and his obvious disregard for rules made him a mortal worth serving his blood-thirsty brother.

“I live for surprises, you know me,” dionysus chuckled just as amused, there was no bad blood between them. he did not really have any arguments with his other siblings either, he has always seen all of them as equals. he would occasionally bicker with hera from time to time – just like any illegitimate son of zeus – and would sometimes enter heated arguments with his aunt – greek families are way too complicated to recall the exact connection, he calls her aunt – aphrodite. ares was a never-ending source of entertainment for him, and the second he felt his presence, he just had to come and see him. “summoned you? really?” dionysus looked impressed at keander, and his interest made keander flush again, hiding away in embarrassment. keander hated flushing like a fool, he blamed it on dionysus’ influence. “no nicknames? I see you are still grumpy, brother. I would love to call him sugarplum, but if you insist,” dionysus raised a hand as a sign of respect, he shall do as he is asked. he did not wish to anger his brother.

“I am not a sugarplum,” keander’s mutter went unheard, and when ares sent him to the kitchen to bring the food, he gladly accepted the order. anything to get away from dionysus. he made a mental note about drinks, even though he was quite sure he will never fall for dionysus’ games in the first place.

dionysus got more comfortable on the couch, and was surprised to see the little cat crawl at ares so happily. he had to smile at it, he rarely saw any innocent animal approach ares, his aura was too murderous and chaotic. he allowed himself to get closer to ares, an arm resting near his brother’s shoulder. it was no secret that dionysus enjoyed his little games, and he was rather direct in nature. an honest drunk, if you will. he touched ares’ cheek gingerly, it was not supposed to mean anything really, he just missed touching another deity.

“you seem to be in recovery, brother. a few days should bring you back to your full strength, I will personally see to it,” his eyes traced ares’ broad shoulders, then his well-formed arms. “I see you went with your mature form. I still think teenager you is adorable,” dionysus almost teased, it was all in good fun. however, he knew his brother was not particularly fond of teasing, so dionysus cut it short. “oh, there is plenty you missed out, brother. I must say, you could have enjoyed yourself. but do not fret, I will help you. I suppose you are not here to hold hands and make friends?” he looked at ares, already knowing the answer. his brother was quite direct with his force and thirst for chaos, just like dionysus’ with his words and affection. the good thing was that dionysus loved fun, chaos or peace mattered less to him.

keander put the three plates on the table, and they made a noise. dionysus looked straight at him, for a second almost murderously so – but his gaze softened, and keander found himself unable to get up from the floor, his preferred seat while eating. he stared at Dionysus stupidly, until he realised he was being manipulated – he looked at ares instead and dionysus’ spell broke. he was almost begging ares to take the maniac away from him, but of course, he could not say anything, or look too dependent.

“excellent. I believe a toast is in order,” dionysus fashioned three cups out of thin air, and filled them with the best red wine he could think of. he left keander’s on the table, and handed ares’ his. dionysus’ wine tasted a little different to everyone – some did not even taste the alcohol. for him, it was french, and delicious. “to chaos, and bloodshed,” dionysus looked at his brother, lips curled in a smirk. keander reached for the cup, but he remembered ares’ warning and decided to abstain, dropping his hand almost miserably.

“I am ready to train,” he replied, almost automatically. yes, he wanted to help – for whatever odd reasons, he felt a lot better about the entire servant situation. it must be his tiredness. he was quite hungry, so he had to take a bite. the bite got stuck in is throat once ares approached him. oh how weak his knees got, how handsome he was. the closer he got, the faster keandre’s heart beat. and it stopped in his throat as he tried to focus on ares’ words. he did not look at him, not even for one second when he spoke. keandre moved the vegetables around in the pan, his hand almost out of strength. the god’s scent was getting stronger, and keandre could feel his entire body react to the proximity – and, yes, entire body. keandre was almost embarrassed, he tried to deflect, he moved again, and again. until he crashed, miscalculating just how close ares was. he had to answer, he was practically forced.

“I remember reading about it, yes,” he said almost robotically, but then he took a deep breath. he calmed his mind for one second, then looked at ares with a sparkling glow in his eyes. the god was promising him power, who was he to refuse? keandre put down the spoon, the food was already cooked. he stared into ares’ eyes for a moment, a long moment. it took him a while to realise he was flushing, burning red – his cheeks, his ears. it could have been the steam, but no, ares’ eyes were at fault. keandre hid away quickly, plating the food as an excuse to look away for longer. then his chaotic self reached out, and he turned with the plate in his hand, and a wide grin. “oh, I love it. let us try it, I suppose I will be alright. and if it makes me stronger, then it is definitely to our advantage,” he looked at ares again, and this time he was spinning. in a wild vision, for a brief moment, he was making out passionately with the god. and he knew it was all in his mind, because the plate in his hand was way too hot, and the situation down there was not getting better. he passed the plate to ares just in time.

a knock on the door startled keandre. he thought they were completely alone out there, it was why he chose the place. he frowned and moved away, grabbing the broom as a weapon – if he needed it. it was a stupid to think he even needed a weapon when ares was there – but then the god might have enjoyed seeing him die. keandre went to the door, and hesitated. something told him he should not bother, but it was too alluring. he unlocked the door, and opened it.

keandre’s jaw almost dropped, because the boy him was absolutely beautiful. stupidly so. and there he was, thinking ares was handsome. this guy – he just looked like a prize to have. well, maybe not entirely for keandre to have, but you get the point. keandre was so astonished, he had no words left. he held his broom tight, and the boy regarded him as if keandre was a stupid peasant, and he was the king. then he smile-smirked, such an alluring smile it almost made keandre lose balance.

“there will be no need for hostility. I am here to see my older brother,” the boy said, and stepped inside uninvited. it was not like keandre would have said no, the boy was too good-looking. keandre locked the door again, and frowned a bit.

“wait, who?” his question went unheard as the boy went straight for the couch, and for ares’ weapons. keandre reacted so fast it almost surprised him, he grabbed the boy’s wrist and pulled him back. he could have easily just spun him around and danced with him – he kind of wanted to do that. “you really should not,” keandre warned, and the boy chuckled. damn, he was art.

“I doubt they will hurt me, am I right, ares?” he looked at the god, then sat on the couch. the cats were all over him in an instant, even grumpy gamma – clearly this guy’s aura was better, keandre thought. “it has been more than a century. what took you so long, big brother?” the boy asked and keandre was ready to defend ares, though he had no idea how a broom will help fight whatever this guy was.

“excuse me. this is my home, so may I know who you are?” keandre asked as politely as he could. the boy turned to look at him, his face almost made keandre kneel helplessly. there was power around him alright. but not the kind ares had, it was a power that made him want to do everything for him. keandre was no artist, but he would have mused over this guy any time. he felt weak, the two powerful presences overwhelmed him. then the boy looked at ares almost daringly.

“will you do the honours?” he asked ares, and waited for him to reveal his identity.