"What did he want?" Arlo asked as he poured me some wine.

"He just wanted to talk. I think he knew he had some explaining to do. It's not every day a god pulls some favours for you, right?"

"Not at all." He shook his head a bit.

"He saw us in a vision," I said and looked down at the delicious dinner Arlo had made. Cooked lamb and a fried tomato salad. "He saw me die and you holding my body." I glanced up to find Arlo looking pale. I pressed on. "He... He lost someone too once. What happened with us, reminded him too much of that. That boy didn't come here either. Apollo turned him into a flower to save him."

Arlo nodded a bit and put a piece of tomato in his mouth. "Yeah, Hyacinthus. Well-known story."

"Yeah. He said I reminded him of Hyacinthus. I think that had a big role to play too. He didn't do this to get something out of it though." I sighed deeply and then took a sip of my wine. "He told me a bit about his kids too."

Arlo looked up, meeting my gaze. There was so much pain in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Dion..."

"No, babe, that's now where I'm going with this." I reached over the table and grabbed his hand, bringing his knuckles to my lips. "I wanna meet the pups."

His eyes widened and then he smiled. "Okay, I'll introduce you to the pups. They'll bite your ankles though."

"I don't think I'd mind too much."

"Just wait until you try it." He snorted and popped another piece of tomato in his mouth.

Cerberus greeted us outside a large house that was placed in Persephone's forest that surrounded the dark castle. It was beautiful. That classic soft pink with white shutters on the windows, and white pillars holding up a balcony over the front door.

"You came at the best time. They've just eaten so they're a little docile now," he said and winked at me.

He had never winked at me before and I couldn't stop the bubbling laugh that escaped me. He opened the door and three little black puppies came out looking up at Arlo. He crouched down and smiled at them.

"Hi little sisters," he said so endlessly softly and ran his hand over the head of one of them. "This is the first litter where all are girls."

"How come the girls are a little more rare?" I asked and glanced up at Cerberus.

He bent down and lifted one of his little daughters up in his arms. "I actually don't know. I guess it's like everyone else. Some people get more sons than daughters or vice versa." He smiled down at the tired puppy in his hands. "We're lucky to have more girls though. They keep their brothers in line." He smirked at Arlo who sent an unimpressed look back.

Arlo rose with the puppy in his hands and then handed her over to me. I was terrified and didn't know what to do as she looked up at me. She had the same black eyes as Arlo and that kind of made me less afraid of her. Not that I was afraid of her. I was afraid of doing something wrong.

"What's her name?" I asked.

"That is Mya," Cerberus said. "And this is Lyric. The one who's trying to hide behind Lo's legs is Demi."

Arlo looked down to find the third pup trying to crawl into the folds of his jeans. He bent down and picked her up.

"Hey, Demi," he murmured softly. "I'm your brother."

She looked up at him and then opened her mouth in what looked like a smile, her pink tongue rolling out between her small k-nines.

"Arlo has always had a way with the pups," Cerberus said. "Would you like your old job back? I could use the help to raise them."

Arlo smiled and then glanced over at me, silently asking permission.

"You don't have to ask me. You can do whatever you want."

Mya licked my cheek and I chuckled looking down at her again, only to receive a lick on my nose. "I think I'm just gonna steal her," I murmured.

"You could come too, Dion," Cerberus said. "The sooner the pups gets exposed to other people who aren't hounds, the better. And it seems like you have a way with them too."

I couldn't help but smile. "I'd love to help out."

Arlo yelped as Demi had caught his finger in her mouth, biting down on it. "I'm telling you, Dion, you're going to end up as scarred as I am."

"I don't mind," I whispered and slowly smoothed my hand over Mya's head.

I repositioned a bit on Arlo's chest, running my hand over his skin. His chest was soft, mostly because of all the hair, but also, he had super soft skin. And he was pretty as he was just laying there, his eyes closed, relaxing. He was growing his hair out a little longer and it just got more and more curly. He also had a bit of stubble on his cheeks and chin now. Honestly, he kept getting hairier and I really loved it. I couldn't even grow a sad moustache, and he was over here with his whole body covered.

Okay, not his whole body. Like he didn't have hair on his back or ass or anything like that. But his arms, his legs and then his chest. And now his face. I revelled in it all. Especially how he wasn't as anxious anymore. He still had really bad days where he needed to be held and where he didn't say very much. But it rarely went on for days and days on end. He got better much faster. He didn't slouch and he didn't look out of place. He stood straight, embraced his seven-foot body entirely and didn't look so apologetic for his size.

It probably helped that he was now in a house that actually accommodated him. Everything was extra-large. The ceilings were high and there were no frames on the doors. They went all the way up to the ceilings and were so incredibly wide.

Our bed was massive too. Even bigger than the one in our old apartment.

"Arlo," I murmured, and it looked like he had to fight to open his eyes. He smiled down at me, waiting for me to carry on. "Would you like your own pups?"

We had been taking care of the girls for a while now and they were growing up fast. We didn't have to have our fingers so bandaged up anymore as they had learnt that biting wasn't very nice. And I loved them. It was getting harder and harder to leave them or let Cerberus pick them up when they came here.

He took a deep breath and frowned. "I..." He stopped and frowned even more. "Do you want pups?"

"I'm asking you, sweet-face."

He swallowed hard and very loudly. "I uh... I think I'd like some. Of my own. Eventually."

He looked so nervous and it was kind of cute.

"Do you... Do you want some?" he asked very hesitantly.

"Yeah, I think I do."

"Even if none of them turn out to... To want to be human?"

I nodded and kissed his chest. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind."

"And you know they won't be pets. Right?" He sat up and pulled his legs up a bit, putting his arms on his knees. "Like, they're not cute pets. They're... Me. And despite me choosing this form, I'm still them. I'm like them."

"I know," I said softly and sat up too.

"Sorry, I know you know but I just... Some people have treated the pups as pets and they're... Not."

I shook my head. "No, I know they're not. Can I be honest?"

"Of course."

"I thought I'd see them as just cute little puppies, but I don't. I mean, they are amazingly cute. But so are all babies. I can't wait for them to grow up and get to know them better. Like their personalities are already showing and soon they'll learn how to shift too right? The girls learn faster than the boys."

Arlo smiled and nodded. "Yeah, they're fast learners."

"I kind of hate leaving them. Because I uh..." I stopped and looked down at my hands. "I love them," I whispered.

Arlo looped an around me and pulled me into his lap. "You should. They're your sisters now too."

I took his face in my hands and softly kissed him. "I love your family," I murmured. "And I want one of our own too. Imagine it, little pups swimming in the pool. Them growing up here in this house. Their little claws click-clacking against the floor."

Arlo kissed my cheek. "I'd love that. I'd have to stay a hound a lot more though, to teach the pups."

"I don't mind," I murmured and kissed his forehead.

"I'd have to ask my father about it. I'm not entirely sure on procedures and what kind of lives they'd have. If they'd be expected to work for Hades like the rest of us."

"Research first. And then..." I smiled and bit down on my lip. "Then maybe we'll be fathers."

Arlo's whole face broke into a large smile and he moved in, kissing me. It was very passionate, and he didn't let me pull back. Not that I even wanted to pull back. I wanted to be drowned in this kiss.

He turned us around in a very smooth move and pressed his hips at me. I let him do whatever he wanted. Right then I couldn't imagine anything better than feeling his lips on my body, knowing we'd start a family together.

"Dion," Arlo whispered in my ear.

I groaned and slapped my arm over his body, pressing my face to his chest. "What is it?"

"Come, look."

He pulled me out of bed and out on the balcony, me protesting tiredly.

"Look at the sky."

I rubbed my eye and looked up. Northern lights stretched beautifully across the starry sky, different colours reflecting off Arlo's skin.

"It's beautiful," I murmured and leaned against my boyfriend.

"I knew you'd wanna see this." He clenched me closer, placing a quick kiss on my head and then looked back up.

This was my life now. Relaxing with Arlo, watching northern lights from the balcony of our beautiful home. It wasn't what we had dreamt of. It wasn't a small house on a small island with regular jobs. It wasn't the dream we had almost desperately clung onto in order to survive in New Delphi.

It was better.

The End.