Dion was curled up beside me, running his fingers over my upper body, drawing little patterns and making me guess what he had drawn.

"A sun," I murmured, my eyes closed.

"Correct. You get a kiss." He lifted up and kissed me. I opened my eyes and smiled up at him.

"I think I get another."

"Why?"

"No reason."

He chuckled and lowered himself again, pressing his lips to mine. "Cutie-face."

I laughed and pressed his face down to my chest, my arm around his neck. He laughed and tried to fight, but I didn't let go. And he didn't really fight very hard either.

And then he bit me.

I yelped and let go and he swung his leg over me, latching onto me. "Did it hurt?"

"Extremely. I think I need to go to hospital."

"Oh, you poor baby." He moved up on top of me and then kissed me. He grabbed my wrists and put them above my head very gently, as he kept kissing me. Then he stopped and pulled up. "Really?" he asked and moved his hips a little.

"I can't help it," I tried and smiled a little awkwardly. He could feel how excited I was getting about him holding me down.

"What did it?" His voice was breathy. I guessed this was maybe something he found hot?

"You holding me down," I replied, my voice shaking a little.

"Really?" He moved down to kiss my throat. "What's so great about it?"

I groaned softly as he ran his tongue of my skin, goose bumps spreading all over. "I feel free."

He stopped and pulled up, arching a brow at me. "What?"

"Yeah. I don't have to think. My head turns off, because I don't have to think about what to do with my hands. Or any parts of my body. You'll tell me what to do. It's freeing."

He smiled the warmest smile in the world and softly kissed me on the mouth this time, taking my face in his hands.

"That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard, Arlo."

"Is it weird?" I asked and pulled my head back a little, pressing it into the pillow, so I could see him.

"No," he said, very determined. "I mean, I get off on tying you down and telling you what to do. I can't judge one side of the coin when I'm the other."

"You do like doing it though, right?" I asked, mostly because I had been afraid, he didn't really. That maybe he just did it for me.

"I know I shouldn't compare but... When I'm with clients I get no control. No one wants that from me. You did. You call me a man and not a boy. I'm your equal. You trust me enough to let me do whatever I want with you. Arlo, that kind of trust is hot. As fuck."

I couldn't help but smile.

"You're hot as fuck," he murmured gruffly and ground himself down on me. I groaned back and got lost him. Lost in what he did to me.

We finally got in touch with Dion's gran and drove to her house on a grey afternoon. Dion looked great. His cheeks were slightly rosy, and he had put oils on his horns. I loved it when he did that. He looked so handsome.

"You ready?" I asked and pulled the keys out of the ignition.

"Yeah, let's go." He smiled. He was chirpy today. Really chirpy and it was so sweet.

We both jumped out of the car and went to the house. It was a cute small house, adjacent to other identical cute houses. I rang the doorbell and the door was fast to open.

Rhea smiled and showed us inside, giving Dion a warm hug. She showed us into the living room which was already occupied.

Dion stopped and latched onto my hand.

"Dion, sweetheart, this is my youngest son, Adrian." She put her hand on the much taller faun's arm. "Adrian, this is your nephew. Dion."

Adrian didn't look kind. He had an almost hostile look in his eyes that looked so much like Dion's. Same brown almost golden eyes. The horns were the same too. Light brown with dark brown streaks in them, getting darker by the tips. They had the same nose and jaw. Same dark brown hair. But he didn't look as sweet as Dion did. He didn't have the softness in his face that Dion had. His eyes weren't as round either.

"Hi," Dion said and tried to wave.

He just offered a nod back.

"I found the papers you asked for, Dion," Rhea said and offered us a seat on the sofa again. We sat down as Rhea took her chair while Adrian stayed behind her. Adrian took the papers from her and scanned them while his mother rose from the chair again, chattering about forgetting the tea.

"You want to join our flock?" he asked and arched a brow at Dion.

"Yeah. I-I talked to Rhea about it. She said she'd do it," Dion said with a shivering voice.

"So that's what this is all about, then. You want benefits. Typical. I don't know why anyone ever thought some half-blood street kid would come into our family for the family."

"What the-" I started but Dion rose to his feet.

"This was a mistake," he whispered and left the living room.

I clenched my fists and rose too, towering over the much smaller faun. "You're a disgusting person. You don't know what he's been through and you judge him all the same. Get some damn sympathy for someone in need."

"Yeah," he snorted and tipped his head up, looking up at me. "My flock is not a charity and that kid is not taking advantage of an old woman. Get the fuck out."

I growled at him before I could stop myself. I heard Dion talking out in the hall then and opted for going after my boyfriend rather than breaking this asshole's face.

Dion was in putting on his coat, Rhea asking why he was leaving so sudden and him brushing her off. He opened the door and more or less stormed out.

"What did you say?" Rhea asked with a sharp tone, aimed at Adrian.

"He's exploiting you. Do you even know if he is who he claims he is?"

"Look at the boy and tell me you don't see Ezio."

"Thank you for having us, Rhea," I broke in and grabbed my coat.

"Please, get Dion to call me. Please." She grabbed my hand in both of hers, begging me.

"I'll try. I can't promise anything." I tried to smile and then I left.

I found Dion in the car. He must've taken the keys from my coat to get in. I sat in beside him and took his hand in mine.

"Where do you wanna go?"

"The ocean," he whispered, tears streaming down his cheeks.

I drove us to the ocean, and we sat in the sand on the beach, watching the waves and the sunset. The tears hadn't stopped, and I didn't ask him anything. I was thinking he needed to just get it out and he'd talk when he was ready.

I had my arm around him, my hand in his hair and the other holding onto his. And he just softly cried, his body jerking once in a while in a silent sob.

When the sun had gone down and Dion was shivering from the cold, I pulled him with me up from the sand and guided him back to the car.

"You hungry?" I asked as I turned on the engine.

"Yeah," he muttered and dried his eyes.

"Wanna eat out or just go home and order something?"

"Home. Please." He whispered the last word.

"Of course."

I drove us home and parked Dion on the couch, in front of the TV, with a soft blanket and dressed in his shorts and one of my t-shirts. I ordered us pizza and then sat down next to him, pulling him to me.

"I'm so sorry, Dion," I murmured into his hair.

"I... I had a family and then..." He stopped and looked up at me. "They think I'm just taking advantage of them."

"Rhea told me to tell you to call. She really wants to be in contact with you. I truly think she does."

He didn't reply to that.

"Hey, wanna meet my sister?" I asked then.

He frowned a bit. "Sure?"

"I mean, do you wanna meet her as my boyfriend."

"Is... Is that wise? We could get fired if it's discovered..."

"She won't tell a soul. I promise."

"Then, I'd like to meet her." He smiled a bit and then leaned his head against my chest. I gently ran my fingers over his horns, and he exhaled loudly, the tension in his shoulders disappearing. I kept doing it for a long while, until the pizza arrived. Before rising, I placed a kiss on the stem of the right horn, and Dion made a soft sound.

I came back to the couch with the pizzas after having paid the satyr who brought them out. Dion always ate these pizzas with sardines and olives on them. Probably the most disgusting mix of toppings I could imagine. And then he'd have a red fizzy drink with it.

I was a more traditional guy. I liked my pizza with a lot of meat on it and a regular coke accompanying it.

But I loved Dion for liking weird pizzas. I loved him for drinking red fizzy drink over anything else. I loved every bit about him. How he'd fiddle with his hair when he got nervous. And how he sounded when I touched his horns. As if he tried to calm himself but was unable. I wished he'd one day just let go and lose control as I had done with him. But there was also something endearing in him no wanting to lose control. That he tried so hard to suppress that he liked it so very much when I touched or kissed his horns.

He seemed to have cheered up a little as he chuckled with his mouth full at some bad joke said on the TV. He was such a trooper. He handled everything a lot better than I did. I would've broken down over something like this. Stayed in bed for days. But Dion was chuckling and eating. Smiling. He'd be okay. He'd get over this as he had gotten over every hardship in his life. He was so strong, and I wasn't. I was so jealous and awestruck by his strength.

"Dion," I said softly.

He turned his head and looked up at me, a bit of tomato sauce staining his chin. I ran my thumb over it, wiping away the sauce.

"You're so strong. And I admire that."

His whole face broke into a smile. The most wholesome smile. He leaned forward and kissed me.

"You're so sweet. And I love that," he murmured against my lips, softly running his fingers over my cheeks.