Floating

[ThornXAmbrosius]

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He wasn't sure how long he'd been standing there. An hour? Three? Or was it four days... years. He could definitely stand there for years, watching the figure in the dance studio spin and twirl and leap, slide across the floor, pop back up and bend in ways that made Thorn's crotch cringe just watching. Yet he couldn't keep his eyes away.

Ambrosius was a thing of absolute beauty. When the demigod had come to him so long ago, telling him he loved to dance, he hadn't thought for a second that that timid hip sway would turn into anything this extravagant, this mystical. Ambrosius moved like liquid. His body was a wicked array of tight lean muscles, long legs strong, his black hair growing longer by the day, making him look more and more like his father, the Greek god, Hades. He currently wore it pulled back into a loose bun that fell against the back of his neck, and his eyes... gods, those eyes. Unlike anything Thorn had ever seen more, except in that of his lover's father. Electric blue, so powerful, and in even the slightest dim light, those eyes glowed.

Fuck, he's beautiful, Thorn thought as he leaned on the doorway of Ambrosius's private dance studio. The music was something new his lover had taken to dancing to. The beautiful lulling trill of a violin singing in the air, followed by the rapid growl of an electric guitar, an organ breaking through the beat to shout through the sounds as they fell together in a beautiful symphony of classical and electronic.

While his lover generally stuck to traditional Celtic and Arabic music, this was a pleasant new sound that filled the house, made the sleek floorboards of the studio vibrate beneath his feet. And goddamn did his Ambrosius know how to move as the music slowed back to a solo violin song, and he spun once, twice, then dipped down low to the floor and swept back up, as if greeting a lover. He drew an arm up, his other going back and his whole body bending at an angle that would've broken Thorn's spinal cord if he tried.

But not his Ambrosius.

The little demigod was the most flexible creature he'd ever seen, and he had been blessed to touch that body, feel the muscles ripple beneath that sun kissed skin.

From classical purring to abrupt shouting electrica that would've busted out the windows if they weren't specially made for the studio, Ambrosius spun and caught hold of a pole across the room, swung around it and slid back down onto his knees, then popped up and threw his head back, drawing his arms out in front of him, then out to the sides. Thorn was starting to lose track of where exactly his lover was going, sprinting and twirling. He watched the sweat fly off Ambrosius's brow, but not once did Ambrosius falter, nor pause for breath.

His lover had been working so hard. His last performance at a theater in Duat had gone incredibly well and he'd been invited back not just by Set, but several other gods who'd previously turned their noses up at Thorn for being a son of Lucifer. Now, the gods were more than happy to tolerate him for Ambrosius's sake.

He watched, and as the song came to a slow lull before the violin cried out and the song ended, as Ambrosius sank down to the floor in a hard split, his body bowed forward. Thorn took his chance, pushed off the doorframe, and approached his lover, his hands colliding in a loud clap that made Ambrosius curse and look up. He swept a hand up through his loose sweaty bangs, tossing them back as he rolled across the floor and slid up with such grace that Thorn was seriously beginning to think Ambrosius was just liquid.

"Sorry," Ambrosius said quickly, then winced as a booming combination of dubstep and classical exploded from the speakers and Thorn smirked. Ambrosius ran to the stereo, fumbling for a second to find the off button before he threw the volume down and turned back to Thorn.

"Did I wake you up again?" Ambrosius asked. Thorn smiled, thoroughly enjoying the flushed look of exertion on Ambrosius's face, the way his chest rose and fell, his breath wavered, and his eyes glued to a particular droplet of sweat that fell right down the center of his chest between his pecs.

"No," Thorn said after a moment, not wanting to worry his lover over something he found entirely trivial in comparison to that dance routine, "I was actually going to find Remi and tell him to make breakfast, but I got distracted... New music?" He glanced at the stereo, but he didn't particularly care about the music so much the feast before his eyes called Ambrosius. His lover cleared his throat, then smiled.

"Yeah, Dania sent it to me actually. Can you believe a mortal is the one who makes that music? It's beautiful. The moment she gave me the first album, I had to buy the other ones. Her work is amazing. It's a fun challenge, totally different from what I'm used to, but it's about time I expanded on my routines. Folk and traditional is fine and all, but it's the twenty-first century. I want to try new things. Shit, I'm babbling again, sorry--"

"Don't apologize," Thorn said, shaking his head and Ambrosius smiled in relief, "I like it when you get excited about something like this. Your whole face lights up. It's beautiful." To emphasize his point, he leaned in and gave Ambrosius a kiss on the cheek. Ambrosius blushed, because no matter how long the two of them had been together, he still blushed.

"Ew," he said, squirming, "I'm all sweaty."

"I love it when you're sweaty. You should just come to bed sweaty."

"So I can get even sweatier?"

"Yes. I wanna make you delirious."

"Ugh," Ambrosius said, waving him off as he went to grab a towel from the bench by the stereo, "I swear, you get weirder and weirder every day. First it was the whole pectoral pinching. Then that super creepy pregnancy scare, and note to self, punch Theo in his sleep for that, and now sweat? If you start to get a thing for leather and bondage, I'm out." Thorn laughed, sweeping up behind his lover to lock his arms around him, pinning those muscular arms to his sides. Ambrosius gasped, then groaned and squirmed, but it was a playful squirm, and Thorn grinned, lifting Ambrosius clean off his feet and swinging around with him, giving him a kiss on his sweaty neck.

"Uh! Ech! Not what I wanted to see in the morning!" Remi's shout came from the doorway to the studio and Thorn rolled his eyes, placing Ambrosius on the floor once more. Ambrosius elbowed him in the ribs and Thorn popped him hard on the buttcheek, making him gasp.

"Don't keep doing it," Remi whined, covering his face and ducking his head down, as if his eyes were burning at the sight.

"Don't be a drama queen," Thorn said dryly, walking away as Ambrosius went to dry his face off and head upstairs to shower, "Fuck, can't you read the room?" Remi cut him a dry stare with sapphire eyes, folding his arms over his chest and cocking a pose that told Thorn he was about ready to get a can of Cajun whoop ass if the conversation continued. Instead of giving Remi the tongue lashing he deserved, Thorn breezed past him into the kitchen and Remi followed close behind.

"What's with you lately," Remi asked, watching as Thorn opened the fridge to scan their ingredients, "You've been on Ambrosius more than usual. Is it a weird demigod thing?" Thorn cast him a disdainful glare, but he wondered exactly how to answer that.

His response used to be "Ambrosius is the love of my life, of course I'm gonna be inclined to fuck him every chance we have", but recently, he began to wonder himself why exactly he felt compelled to hunt Ambrosius down. Every day. Every hour. Christ, even now, his cock was hard as a rock and painful to boot. It wasn't just an emotional ache, but a physical one that burned right into the core of his stomach and he rubbed the space there uncomfortably.

Thankfully, his mother had been a fae and his father an archangel. His father's genes had completely washed out any chance of him being capable of pregnancy. Things were different with Ambrosius. Male faes had very powerful genes, and while Ambrosius kept assuring him that Hades's god blood was stronger than Blaine's fae blood, neither one of them felt exactly comforted by the fact. Not after Theo's stupid April Fool's prank, and not after a false positive test Ambrosius had gotten six months ago.

What if Ambrosius was pregnant? What if that was why Thorn couldn't keep his hands off him? He'd heard that when a fae was pregnant, male or female, they gave off a stronger pheromone that was damn near impossible to resist.

But Ambrosius didn't look pregnant, he reminded himself. Ambrosius had a flat washboard stomach, had no strange cravings, and his last test was negative. They had thought about condoms, but when Ambrosius had brought it up with Blaine, the ornery fae hadn't spoken to them for weeks. Condoms were considered taboo in the fae world, and it made sense; they were fucking fertility creatures, for god's sake. And Blaine was traditional as fuck.

Not that Thorn blamed him. Blaine loved children. And the idea of Ambrosius giving him grandchildren thrilled him. He wanted the same joy of children that he had for Ambrosius.

Unfortunately, Ambrosius had put his foot down.

No children.

Not now.

Maybe not even in several millennia. It was always the world is too dangerous right now or what if there are complications. But in the end, it came right down to the fact that Ambrosius loved his job too much to be distracted by children. He was a workaholic, and why wouldn't he be? He was doing what he loved most in the world at long last. Not to mention, the dancing world tended to frown upon C-section scars and while the fae world held them in high esteem, his career would collapse.

And it frustrated Thorn to no end. Surely Ambrosius's god blood would heal any scars, and why did it even matter? Why did the dancing world have to put such a strong emphasis on appearance? Ambrosius was beautiful no matter what scars he beared. They should see it as scars of ultimate beauty, the beauty of life, of a miracle, of the much coveted fertility. But that traditional view was lost on the competitive world of dance, and Ambrosius had already been torn into a couple years ago for having gained three pounds, that according to his agent, was too much.

He loved that Ambrosius was dancing. He loved that he did it for a living. He loved that Ambrosius had so much fun with it. But even the most wonderful job had pitfalls.

And Thorn didn't dare tell Ambrosius that the idea of children appealed to him. Blaine already ganged up on him about having children, and even Lucifer was excited by the idea. Of course, Hades was on the "fuck no" bandwagon and threatened to have Ambrosius's womb extracted, a threat that seemed idle to Ambrosius, but Blaine took seriously on a level unlike anyone had ever seen.

But Thorn liked the idea of children. And he never thought he'd say that. His entire life, he'd been about relaxing in the sun, enjoying his massive pool, doing his job until he passed out at night, and running around with multiple lovers? Defo. That was his lifestyle. And when he'd met Ambrosius, he'd been alright with falling in love. Ambrosius had given him a whole new perspective on life, and it made him want to work harder at his own job, made him want to do anything he could to please his lover.

But children? No way.

Or so he thought.

The idea of raising little ones... appealed to him. He'd seen the way Jaques was with his children. His older brother was a surly bastard, overprotective to the extreme, the group mother, the guy who made stereotypical dad jokes. However, with his children in the room, Jaques was putty in their hands. He loved chasing them around the Christmas tree, loved buying them toys at the mall, tried to carry all of them at once. He'd never seen Jaques happier than he was with his family.

And Blaine? The fae had cooled down immensely since he'd had the twins. He adored his children, all of them. While he loved Ayo and Ambrosius on unfathomable levels, he was all too happy to be able to baby Keros and Holly. The only time the fae gentled was around his children, and even around Cerberus. Scrutinizing eyes would say Blaine was abusive, but no one paid attention to the light in Blaine's eyes when he teased his husband, or the way he didn't fight very hard to keep Cerberus off him, because he genuinely loved being cuddled by his husband. Blaine was harsh and he was hard to love, but when he did love, his love was like a gift, a gift he shared with his family... his children.

Gods, Thorn wanted that. He wanted to hold a mini-Ambrosius. He wanted to hold a mini-him. He wanted to teach a child, show them the world he'd been shown, love them, care for them. He never thought he'd been the family man type until now.

And unfortunately, Ambrosius was not on the same page and he was the one with the womb, not Thorn. His mother's genes had succumbed to Lucifer's stronger ones. Or at least, that's what the doctors said. He wondered, given these fuzzy mommy feels he had.

He shuddered at the idea, and Remi raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know," Thorn said at last, serious now as he set aside the ingredients to make a hearty breakfast, "I don't know what to do, Rem. I feel weird. Like, whenever I see him, I have to have him and I have to have him right fucking then and there."

"Uhm, ew?"

"I'm being serious," Thorn snapped, reaching up to wipe a hand down his face. Remi studied him for a moment, then sighed and leaned on the long island counter between them.

"Maybe you're in heat or something? Do faes do that? Cuz shifters do," he said, making Thorn's face screw up, "What? Shut the fuck up, couillon. You're the one who brought it up. But for real, though, shifters go into heat about twice a year, usually every six months, sometimes earlier if we find ourselves particularly smitten. It just makes the urge to fuck stronger. And it's hard to resist, considering the pheromones we put off are as hard to resist as heroin is to an addict. You think I'm lying, but holy balls, you have not smelled that shit. I think I actually attracted a wealthy billionaire back in the day, but I can't remember a thing. The night was a blur of sex and violence. Sex with the billionaire, but violence when her husband found us in bed together."

"I feel like your life is just one big cautionary tale," Thorn said dryly and Remi shrugged, "I figured I already knew everything I could about faes. Last I checked, only pregnant faes gave off a particular scent. Ambrosius isn't pregnant." Remi cocked a brow.

"Maybe it's like female ovulation," he said, to which Thorn stared at him and he scowled, "What? You know, when the body is ready for babymaking. So it just kinda-- Stop looking at me like that, feet pue tan! You're the one asking me about this crazy as merde!" Several more curses in Cajun French before Thorn decided that maybe Remi wasn't the right person to be talking to about this.

He held off, instead telling Remi to prepare breakfast so he could go upstairs to his office. He shut the door and turned the lock, because the last thing he needed was Ambrosius walking in on him asking for help on this kind of thing.

He sat down in front of his computer, a neat upgrade from the two in one laptop he'd gotten years ago. And it helped when you were dating the son of a techno geek. He tapped the button his desk and a holographic screen appeared before him along with a matching keyboard. He clicked around via touch screen until he came to his video calling and dialed the one number he told himself he would only dial in emergencies.

On the screen, a petite little fae's face came up. Long chestnut brown hair, fluffy and thick like a gorgeous mane, falling around slender pale shoulders, eyes like emeralds, and pale Northern European complexion, Blaine was the exact thing he needed to quell the problem between his legs. Hoping that in the future he could find his balls, he cleared his throat awkwardly, opening his mouth to greet his boyfriend's father, only for Blaine to speak first.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the bastard Satan spawn who done fucked my kid. Haven't seen your face since the last Christmas party. I think there's a reason for that," he added, folding his arms over his chest. Thorn closed his eyes, resisting the urge to just hang up on the fae, but he wasn't here for himself. He was here for Ambrosius too. And the only person who would know what was going on just happened to be the only person he wanted to avoid discussing it with.

No, wait. Hades was worse.

Hades wouldn't just hang up on him. Hades would hunt him down and nail his testicles to his forehead.

"Blaine. I hope you're not busy--"

"I have two toddlers running around the house with sharpies, a rebellious teenage son-- strike that, two rebellious teenage sons, and did I mention my husband is a fucking dog?"

"Right, well," Thorn continued as coolly as he could, "I wanted to talk to you about something. It's kind of important, so I'm hoping you can make some time." Blaine frowned automatically. He picked up whatever device he was viewing the screen on, and called out to Ayo to corral the munchkins before he went down a hallway and into a private study, where he took a seat at an oak wood desk and glared at the screen.

"Alright, what did you do to my son now? Or did Hades do it? Which one? I don't know which one is work. Speak, damn it, before I head over there and rip your balls off myself."

"If you'd give me a second to explain," Thorn said drolly, and Blaine pursed his lips tight and glared at him impatiently, "It's nothing... dire. I don't think. Look, Ambrosius and I both have fae blood in us. My mother was a fae, and, well, I mean. Obviously you. But my mother's genes were pretty much drowned out by my father's. It's different for Ambrosius, I'm sure. And since we're taking precautions, my thinking is that Ambrosius retained some of his fae DNA, from you. And, recently, I've noticed that our... Uhm." How did he say he wanted to fuck the fae's son more than usual without actually saying it?

Maybe this was a bad idea, Thorn thought grimly, rubbing at his neck. Blaine narrowed his eyes for a moment, then leaned forward on the table.

"Have you gone into your needing?" He asked. Thorn stared at him blankly.

"My what?"

"Holy Kentucky Fried Dicks in a basket," Blaine declared, making Thorn scowl as Blaine leaned back in his chair, "And here I thought, at least my son is dating someone with a brain. I should've known. It's Hades's side of the family. Damn Greeks and their weirdness infecting my child. Then again, I suppose that probably would've happened with Cerberus if it didn't happen with Hades... You know, that just sounds fucking disgusting when I say it like that. Who'd wanna fuck him? Oh, right, duh, your dad."

"Can we please stay on topic?"

"Sure," Blaine deadpanned, then sighed in frustration, "Faes have a needing. It's when one fae is fertile and the other one fucking knows it, so they do the do and boom, pregnancy, first try. It happens after a fae reaches maturity, which is generally around our mid-twenties to early-thirties." Thorn swallowed hard at that. Ambrosius was how old now? And he was...? Shit.

"Okay," he said slowly, trying to work through the internal screaming out loud in a calm manner that reminded him of a trauma patient going into shock, "Okay, that makes sense. Faes are fertility creatures. Sure. But, uh, say... Since my father has the dominant genes, this wouldn't happen to me." Blaine made a rude noise that was a cross between a snort and a fart with his mouth, and Thorn grimaced.

"Oh, please. You angels and gods and your superiority complexes. You may not have inherited mommy dearest's babymaking factory, but you got her babymaking juices and all faes, half, quarter, or whatever, get the needing. It's how we keep our species alive."

"So, you're telling me that... Well, let's say hypothetically--"

"Don't lie to me, you devil twat. I know you and Ambrosius are going through your needing, both of you," Blaine snapped, and Thorn paled at that, making Blaine snort, "Yeah. Ambrosius already contacted me about it, asking questions too." Thorn groaned, dropping his head down the desk for a moment to cope with the fact that Ambrosius had already known what he'd been questioning for weeks now. Why hadn't Ambrosius come to him to talk about it?

Because he's probably embarrassed by it. Sort of like you are now, Thorn thought bitterly.

"How do we make it stop?" He asked, looking up at Blaine, who appeared offended by the question.

"By fucking and having babies."

"Any other way that doesn't involve putting bread in the oven?"

"Yeah. Blowing up your house and sending the oven to a kitchen where it'll be taken care of. Asshole." Without another word, Blaine hung up on him and Thorn sighed miserably. He should've known Blaine wouldn't be much help.

But if Ambrosius already talked to Blaine, perhaps Blaine had told him something more useful. And he couldn't keep pretending this needing thing wasn't happening. Because it was, and goddamn it was making him irritable, even more so when someone interrupted his moments with Ambrosius. If Remi, or gods fucking forbid Castiel, ruined one more near fuck session, he was going to grab them and--

Wait a minute, Thorn thought abruptly.

Blaine had said the needing went into effect and the first time sex was done during the needing, the other person became pregnant. And last he checked, he and Ambrosius hadn't used any sort of birth control. So what the hell did that mean?

His chest constricting, he quickly shut his computer off and sped out of the study to find Ambrosius. A quick check in the room revealed Ambrosius had already showered and probably went downstairs. So for the kitchen Thorn sprinted as if the devil were on his heels. Or Jaques. Whichever was scarier, to be honest.

He was down the stairs and into the kitchen in nine seconds flat and he pulled up short to see Remi handing Ambrosius a shake that appeared to be a combination of strawberries, bananas, kale, and coconut. Grimacing in distaste, and also in absolute horror, Thorn quickly went to Ambrosius, pausing to shut the fridge door on Remi, who hissed and sidestepped the door to avoid getting his hand smashed.

"Feet pue tan--"

"Remi, take a hike, now. Find Castiel. Make sure he's not burning the fucking house down again," Thorn snapped without looking at him. Grumbling under his breath, Remi left the kitchen, his shout for Castiel muffled by the door closing behind him.

"Wow," Ambrosius said, raising an eyebrow as he leaned back on the island counter and taking a sip of his shake, "And I thought I was cranky in the morning. Need some Lipton Lemon--"

"Are you pregnant?" Thorn demanded immediately. Ambrosius froze in mid-sip, then coughed and set the shake aside, pushing off the countertop. Hacking up half a lung, he cast Thorn a dirty look as he went to the sink to spit the shake up into the sink, turning the faucet on to take a gulp of water.

"Answer me," Thorn pressed, more calmly this time. Ambrosius shut the water off and turned to look at him.

"Absolutely not," he said with a scowl, "My last test was a negative, I told you that. What is your problem?" Thorn glared at him now.

"My problem is that nobody told me faes went into a needing. And nobody told me that you and I were both in it," he answered. Ambrosius blushed lightly, and while it was enough to make Thorn's body instantly heat with desire, he was still too angry to let that block out the fact that Ambrosius had known what was going on and hadn't said a word.

"I thought you knew," Ambrosius said at last, looking uncomfortable.

"No," Thorn replied in frustration, "I figured my father's genes were enough to suppress anything fae, but I suppose I was wrong. But if we're both in needing and have been fucking like crazy, how come you're not pregnant yet?" Ambrosius swallowed uneasily, fiddling with the drawstring of his sweatpants, his eyes finding anything, but Thorn's face to look at.

"I... Uhm. The first time we did it, something felt off. So I called my dad and he told me about it and told me to go see a doctor. Well, he said Hades, but we all know that's a definite hell no, so I went to a clinic in Annwn. He told me I wasn't pregnant, but that my god blood would make getting pregnant a little difficult, and I... he gave me... pills, to take. To make sure I didn't get pregnant." His voice became soft, small, as he finished his explanation, and he looked down at the floor, clearly ashamed of his actions.

Thorn stared at him in disbelief.

"Birth control. You've been taking birth control," he stated. Ambrosius's blush reached the tips of his ears now as he looked away nervously.

"Just until the needing was finished, or, I mean, that was my plan, but that was like five months ago and the needing is still there. I wanted to go back and see the doctor to ask about it, but he was on vacation the only time I was free and I had concerts to do and I couldn't ask my dad. You know how he feels about that sort of thing. He'd be so angry, and he already ignored me for like a week when I mentioned condoms. Please, Thorn, don't look at me like that. I'm so sorry I didn't say anything. I didn't... I didn't want to talk about it. I wasn't ready." Fuck, Thorn wanted to be angrier than he was. Not that he wasn't.

He was downright furious.

He wanted to smash something, and a very sick, hurtful part of him was tempted to go in and smash Ambrosius's studio, but he would never be able to do that, no matter how angry he was. Even though it felt like Ambrosius had done exactly that; taken something super important and just smashed it to pieces in front of him.

But Ambrosius looked pitiful, standing there with those beautiful glowing blue eyes shiny with unshed tears, his face pink with shame, and his hands shaking as he wrung them together. It was almost like he expected their relationship to end right here, because of this. But as angry as Thorn was, he wasn't angry enough to end something so precious over something like this.

"Why didn't you say something to me about the birth control?" Thorn asked at last. Ambrosius swallowed thickly, reaching up to nervously brush his hair back from his face.

"I didn't want you to get mad or try to talk me out of it. I just keep remembering you saying that you were alright with the idea of having kids, when I had that pregnancy scare, and I thought that you'd..."

"What? Force you to have kids, Ambrosius? Do you seriously think I'd do something like that?"

"I don't know."

"Wow," Thorn said slowly, dragging the word out, "Well, that's a vote of fucking confidence."

So much for trying to remain calm, Thorn thought bitterly.

"Thorn--"

"I'm not your dad, Ambrosius. I'm not either one of them. I would've honestly accepted any plans you had. If you'd fucking told me. But clearly I have no say in this relationship. I shouldn't be surprised, though. Apparently fertility isn't the only thing you inherited from your dad," Thorn said coldly. Ambrosius stiffened, but said nothing as Thorn turned and went for the stairs, heading up to his study and slamming the door shut so hard that the stainglass window in the foyer rattled in its panes and Ambrosius flinched. He swallowed multiple times, trying to keep the tears at bay, but he suddenly found it too difficult.

Not wanting to get caught crying like a bitch in the kitchen, Ambrosius quickly went upstairs to the bedroom, slamming his own door shut. But he really had no right to be angry. He knew what what he'd done had been a total dick move. He should've talked to Thorn about it, and he knew that. Blaine himself had even told him to talk to Thorn about it. Thorn was his boyfriend. They had a relationship. A relationship was built by two people, not the decisions of one person.

But he was scared.

The idea of carrying a child in his body terrified him.

The very thought made him clutch his stomach as it did flip flops and he shivered, praying that was just nerves.

He wasn't ready to be a father. Sure, maybe at the time of that pregnancy scare, he had to accept the idea, an idea he thought was already fact, but when it had turned out to be nothing, he couldn't resist sighing in relief. He had already begun plans to cancel his latest tour. Now he wouldn't have to. He could go on tour again and again and again. And then as he mulled the idea over, the idea of being pregnant, he'd woken up with nightmares.

He couldn't be a father. Fuck, if his own upbringing wasn't enough of a shitshow, he had no idea how much he'd fuck up his own child. Would he really be able to cancel his tours, put a pause on his career, for another living breathing creature? He couldn't imagine waking up in the middle of the night to take care of a baby. He didn't want to think about the expenses, even though those weren't particularly a concern given first he was a fucking demigod, and second his career had him set for life. But buying all those things that he'd just have to toss out after a year because children grew like crazy? And how fast would his child age?

Ambrosius had aged pretty quickly, but he was sixteen when he met Thorn. Only twenty when he'd had his pregnancy scare. He didn't want to be one of those young parents with kids. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate what they did; he just didn't want to spend his youth taking care of another youth. He wanted to keep working. He wanted to keep dancing.

And that was a whole other shitstorm.

The tabloids would go insane if he had a child. Headlines would be plastered on his face about his first born child, questioning his ability to continue dancing. And god fucking forbid those competitors would take cheap shots at his physical state afterwards. He could just imagine the fat jokes, or false pity about a C-section scar.

Oh my god, I'm going to hyperventilate.

Panicking, Ambrosius quickly went into the bathroom and turned the bathtub on, filling it with cold water before he got in and settled down, even wearing his clothing. The cold water was a good shock back to reality, but he was still terrified, still guilty, still miserable.

He should've discussed it with Thorn. But he knew Thorn wanted children. And he didn't want to disappoint Thorn, not like he disappointed everyone else. Sure, Hades had changed over the years, but that didn't change the fact that Hades was still pissed he wasn't a soldier, or even a goddamn chiropractor would've made the Greek god jump for joy. Instead, his son was a dancer, and dating the son of Lucifer... said archangel being the current beau of said Greek god.

And Blaine? Gods, he knew his dad wanted him to have children. Blaine, without really realizing it, had been pressuring Ambrosius too. He went on and on about how great having children was, how rewarding and life fulfilling it was, and when Ambrosius brought up his career, Blaine would brush it off with you can keep dancing, just wait until after you have the baby. Because he had no idea how difficult the dancing world was for a career. Blaine danced as a hobby, as a way to relieve stress. For Ambrosius, dancing was everything. It was his life. He'd nearly gotten his head smashed in by Hades for having chosen this path. He would be damned if he gave it up for what? Sixteen years of intense babysitting?

He was still a kid himself! He didn't want to have children!

But Thorn does, he thought miserably. Thorn wanted babies. Plural. Because gods knew he'd be fucking lucky enough to have twins, considering the gene ran on both sides of the family. Which brought in a whole other horror. As if one kid wasn't bad enough, he could be cursed with two. Or three. And fucking throw him down a well if he had quadruplets.

But Thorn. He could easily imagine Thorn with babies. Thorn was so sweet. He supported Ambrosius's dream the entire time, even before they got together. It was Thorn who had encouraged him to fight for his dreams and make them a reality. Thorn was the one who didn't judge him for wanting to be a dance. Thorn was the one who loved and accepted people from all walks of life. And he'd seen Thorn with his nieces and nephews. Even Keros and Holly loved him and would climb up his legs to sit in his arms on their family visits.

And how happy Thorn looked with those children in his arms, as if they belonged there.

Tears welled up in Ambrosius's eyes before he could stop them and he found himself pathetically crying as he sat in the ice cold tub, teeth chattering between hiccuped sobs.

I'm a horrible, terrible person. How could I possibly be a parent if I can't even be a good boyfriend or a good son?

He was crying so hard, he didn't even hear the bathroom door open up and Thorn curse.

Thorn was frozen in the doorway for only a split second as he saw Ambrosius crying in the bathtub, sitting in water so cold that he could feel the chill of it in the air. He snatched up the nearest towel and ran to the tub, intending to sweep his lover out and take him to the room, only for his foot to get caught on the bath rug, so he pitched forward and fell head first in the ice cold water, making Ambrosius shout in surprise.

"Holy fuck! This water is cold! Jesus, I think my balls just shriveled up inside me!" Thorn barked, thrashing in the cold water. Ambrosius sniffed for a moment, then covered his mouth as a laugh bubbled up inside him. Thorn scowled at him for a moment, his hair sticking to his face, his clothes plastered to his body, and the towel soaking up the cold water between them. Ambrosius burst out laughing and Thorn frowned for a moment, but it was too hard to maintain the stern expression when Ambrosius was sitting there laughing at him after he'd just oh so gracefully slam dunked his ass into the tub.

And all because of a dumb bath rug.

Thorn smiled slowly, then laughed a second later.

"I guess I'm not as graceful as you are," he said as he sobered. Ambrosius sniffed and shook his head. Thorn shifted in the tub, groaning as he reached with one arm to grip the lip of the tub and reached his other hand out to grab the faucet, only to have Ambrosius stand and take his hand. Their eyes locked for a moment before Ambrosius stepped out, helping Thorn out and grabbing a towel so he could drop it on Thorn's head and dry his hair. Thorn reached up to stop him, pulling the towel back so it fell around his neck.

He grabbed another towel and wrapped it around Ambrosius, who sniffled some more, watching as he unplugged the bathwater. Together, they meandered into the bedroom and sat on the end of the bed, staring down at the floor. After a long moment of silence, Ambrosius cleared his throat.

"I'm... I'm really sorry I didn't tell you about the birth control," he whispered, then sniffed and reached up to wipe at his eyes, "And the needing. And... And everything else. It wasn't about me distrusting you or anything. I just... I didn't want to disappoint you." Thorn frowned.

"Why would you disappoint me? I told you, I'm not Blaine, or Hades, Ambrosius."

"I know that," Ambrosius said softly, "I just... I don't know, Thorn. I trust you, I really do. I just... I'm so used to doing what I like to do now. I have everything I could ever want, and I'm happy. But, I know you want... kids. I know you want to be a dad, but... I'm so scared." Thorn scooted closer to him, putting an arm around Ambrosius and hauling him close as Ambrosius choked up again.

"What are you afraid of? Is it the pregnancy?" He asked. Ambrosius shrugged helplessly, sniffling.

"I don't know, everything? I mean, I'm not ready, Thorn, I'm really not. I thought I was, but the more I thought about it, the more scary it became. I mean, just look at where I come from. Does it fucking look like I'd be daddy of the year? As much as I love Hades and Blaine, they're not exactly the best role models for parenting. I have no idea how to raise a kid. I'm just learning how to raise myself. I have my own career. Remi's teaching me how to make fucking grilled cheese, Thorn. Grilled cheese. My brothers have known how to make grilled cheese since they were friggin' fetuses."

"Ambrosius--"

"I'm serious! I'd be a horrible parent. And what makes me even worse is that I don't think I'd be willing to give up my career for them."

"Nobody asked you to do that."

"No, but I'd have to. I can't dance and raise kids. The media would harass them, harass you, me, even my parents. I wouldn't be able to dance for a whole nine months, if not more, considering our kids are gonna be some kind of mutant hybrid, which scares me even more, cuz what if people try to hurt our kid? I saw the way people treated Hannibal in Styx, Thorn. People don't treat hybrids all that great, and oh yeah, sure our family treats us just fine, but not everyone will. It took me being famous for people to shut up about my genetics. And don't get me started on genetics! We both have twins in our families, Thorn, what if I have twins? Or worse? I can't even handle one kid, let alone eight!"

"Wow, you really went from zero to a hundred there," Thorn muttered, making Ambrosius glare at him, and Thorn sighed, "I know what you're saying, Ambrosius, believe me. Don't you think I've been going through these scenarios in my head too? The only exposure to kids I've had is nieces and nephews. And there is a huge difference between uncle and daddy. And my job can be dangerous, Ambrosius. What if God suddenly decides he doesn't want Purgatory anymore? What if the angels revolt against this system? What if someone tries to kill me because I judged them to Gehenna and they get out on reincarnation? Hell, what if an old friend shows up and tries to kill me and the family?"

"Those are slim odds," Ambrosius mumbled. Thorn half-smiled.

"And so are octuplets."

"But--"

"They are. And so is the idea that people won't accept them. We live in an ever changing world. Styx may not have opened its arms to Hannibal, but you know who did? Hell. Purgatory. Olympus. Fucking Atlantis, Ambrosius. He's got the love of his life, a family that adores him, friends willing to do anything for him. And if we have a hybrid kid, something tells me that he, or she, will definitely have a family that loves them. And if you combine my charming personality with your intelligence, who would not want to be friends with our kid?" Thorn exclaimed, as if the very idea was preposterous. Ambrosius rolled his eyes and elbowed him in the side.

"Oh, so my intelligence is all he or she would get?"

"No," Thorn murmured seriously, reaching out to tip Ambrosius's head up by his chin so their eyes met, "I'd want them to look like you. I'd want them to have your hair, your eyes, your nose, your mouth. I'd want them to have your determination, your drive, to do what you want to do. I'd want them to have your amazing dreams. And they would be loved and cared for, no matter what, just like you." Ambrosius swallowed, reaching up as Thorn moved his hand to cup his cheek. He held his hand over Thorn's before he shut his eyes tightly.

"I really am sorry, Thorn... I shouldn't have tried to do things on my own."

"And I shouldn't have gotten pissy, and I shouldn't have said what I did," Thorn added, making Ambrosius look at him, "You're a good person, Ambrosius. And it's alright to be scared. It happens to everyone." Ambrosius turned his head to the side, lifting Thorn's hand off his face and kissing the inside of his palm before he looked at Thorn.

"Thank you for being there for me. Through everything." Thorn smiled and leaned in to give Ambrosius a gentle kiss on the lips. Ambrosius kissed him back. There was a pause, their breaths intermingling before Thorn leaned in again, giving him harder now. Ambrosius moaned, sucking in a deep breath as their kiss broke apart.

"Shit," Thorn breathed, studying Ambrosius's face, memorizing every part of him, loving every part of him, "This whole needing thing feels worse than usual." Ambrosius nodded weakly, and scooted closer for a moment, their sides touching, but that wasn't nearly enough. The heat boiling under his skin was driving him insane, making him completely forget he'd just taken an ice bath. He dropped the wet towel to the floor and moved so he was sitting in Thorn's lap, reaching out to take Thorn's face in his hands, loving the way Thorn's skin seemed to heat under his fingertips.

Gods, he'd never seen Thorn look so positively delectable.

Oh sure, the guy was fucking sexy every day of the week, but the needing just made him positively glow. His olive skin a rich gorgeous shade, those intense hazel eyes practically topaz in the light, those perfect kissable lips parted, a silent plea for more. He could feel Thorn's cock through their clothes, feel the hardness of it grinding up against him with a desperation he hadn't felt in his lover since they first met.

And he felt oddly in control for that moment.

He was so used to Thorn taking the lead, Thorn making him beg, and he suddenly wanted to turn the tables. He wanted to see Thorn fucked up so bad, the guy was begging for more.

So he began a slow steady rotation with his hips, pressing himself down on top of Thorn's cock, watching those hazel eyes become hooded, lips parting in a silent moan as his eyes rolled back and he shut them slowly. Ambrosius smiled, holding Thorn's head in his hands. He tilted his head down, capturing those lips, savoring the way Thorn moaned, the sound vibrating his throat. Ambrosius trailed his finger down over that throat, tickled Thorn's collarbone in a way that made the male shudder beneath him.

He moved his hand at a devastatingly slow pace, dragging it over Thorn's bare skin, skin that was hot and flushed with hunger. Thorn's fangs glinted as he opened his mouth wide, letting Ambrosius reach his thumb around his jaw to sink into his mouth. Thorn growled low in his throat, tongue reaching out to meet Ambrosius's thumb so he could lick the sensitive pad. Ambrosius shivered, and not wanting to be beaten to the punch, he dipped his hand right down into Thorn's pants and grasped that thick hard cock in his palm. Thorn's hips jacked up and the sound he made was a cross between a growl and a moan. His head fell back and his lips fell shut around Ambrosius's thumb as he suckled the digit while Ambrosius worked him down below.

Shit, his lover was beautiful like this. Ambrosius felt his whole body rise in temperature, felt his hips swivel a little at the thought of taking his cock deep inside him. He wanted to feel Thorn underneath him, watch Thorn lose control as he came. Ah gods, the image of Thorn going batshit crazy for more turned him on like nothing else had before.

He worked Thorn right up to the peak, but released him before he could actually hit an orgasm. The noise Thorn made was nothing, if not pitiful. Ambrosius laughed softly, then pushed Thorn back down on the bed. He eagerly scooted back on his elbows, and appeared ready to take his position on top, but Ambrosius shoved him back down on the bed so his head landed on the blue satin pillows. A shiver crept through him, seeing Thorn's rich dark hair against that vibrant shade of blue. He reached down to take Thorn's head in his hands again, his fingers threading through that soft hair, and he leaned in to kiss Thorn deeply.

His lover responded with a desperate whine, arching his hips up to grind himself up against him. Ambrosius smiled, then reached back to slip his pants down, kicking them off so they disappeared somewhere in the room. Because quite honestly, fuck everything else right now.

The needing was rocking his whole fucking world. It sent fire through his veins. It made him feel as if he were starving, and not for food. Gods, he wanted Thorn to fill him up until he was drowning. He wanted to feel hot all over, he wanted to hit his peak and spill himself on Thorn's stomach. He wanted to drag his finger through that hot mess and paint those perfect lips with it.

Fuckin' A. Breathlessly, and unable to tame the heat any longer, Ambrosius wet himself with a tube of lubricant from the nightstand, didn't even take Thorn's pants off all the way, just pulled them down enough so he could position himself just right, and drop himself down so fucking hard they both shouted at the impact.

"Jesus Christ," Thorn panted, reaching up to take Ambrosius's hips in his hands, "Fuck, ride me. Ride me hard, baby." Moaning at the command, Ambrosius was more than happy to apply as he started to work a steady pace that lasted only a few seconds as Thorn whined for more, clutching his fingers into Ambrosius's muscled ass. Ambrosius panted as he picked up the pace, slamming down hard to meet each desperate thrust of Thorn's hips.

The motions took control. Everything else spiraled out of existence. All that existed was the two of them, the heat in their veins, the hunger, the desperation. It was so hard, so fast, so sudden. Thorn barked out loud first, throwing his head back and jacking his back up off the bed as he slammed hard into Ambrosius, who cried out and grabbed Thorn up against him. Thorn threw himself up into a sitting position, grabbing Ambrosius against him, thrusting hard.

It was so long, so hard, so blinding.

And when it was over, it was like floating in space. A soothing bliss that carried them down from the peak and settling back down on the bed.

Ambrosius landed on the bed next to him with a grunt, before panting as he held onto the pillow in his arms, and Thorn rolled over to throw himself across Ambrosius's back. Together, they worked to catch their breaths, before Thorn said, voice muffled against the pillows,

"You should do that more often. You should do that again. We should so do that again." Ambrosius laughed breathlessly, but it appeared his body was more than eager to comply with the suggestion, judging from the way he appeared to harden all over again. He wasn't the only one, he noted as he felt Thorn's cock rub against his thigh.

They rolled over, and once more Ambrosius threw Thorn down on the bed and scaled that long hard body, plopping himself right down where he belonged and taking another hot ride. Again, and again, until the last time was honestly more painful than pleasurable, but still managed to be bittersweet.

"I'm going to die," Ambrosius whimpered against the pillow, "Jesus, my body hurts. Did you have to do it so hard?"

"You're the one who was calling the shots. I should be the one crying. I feel like I just broke a hip," Thorn groaned. Ambrosius laughed quietly, then rolled over to look at Thorn, who lay flat on his back with an arm over his eyes, body sprawled out in a way that made Ambrosius pray Remi didn't burst in suddenly. The poor Cajun shifter would go blind.

"Hey, Thorn?"

"Yeah?"

"If... If we had a son, what would we... what would we call him?" Ambrosius asked softly. Thorn blinked, then rolled onto his side to face Ambrosius, who stared at him curiously with those beautiful glowing blue eyes. Thorn smiled slowly, scooted closer, so he could bring Ambrosius in for a cuddle. And how pleasant that Ambrosius fit against his body so perfectly. Because he belonged there.

"I don't know," Thorn admitted after a moment of thought, "Something different... Something that wouldn't make Hades mount my balls over his fireplace." Ambrosius laughed, thumped him in the chest, then snuggled against the same place.

"Something easy. I don't want to have to yell Bartholomew Charles Jameson at the top of my lungs."

"That is literally the most random as fuck name you could have possibly come up with."

"I'm really good at that. How about something Celtic? So my dad doesn't mount both of our genitals over his fireplace."

"Hmm... Well, there's Aidan, Desmond, Cedric. Dewain. Kaiden's a cool one too."

"I like Kaiden. Or Aidan. Or Quinn."

"Quinn is a good name."

"And if it's a girl?" Ambrosius asked, tilting his head up to look at Thorn, who hummed thoughtfully.

"Something that's badass, but also pretty... Not too pretty, though," he added, wrinkling his nose. Ambrosius rolled his eyes, then closed his head and rested his ear against Thorn's chest, listening to the sound of Thorn's heart beat.

"I like the name Lumen," he said. Thorn raised an eyebrow.

"Lumen?"

"Yeah. I don't know why, but that one sounds right."

"Yeah," Thorn echoed, "Lumen." They were silent for a while, one listening to the heartbeat, one listening to the silence. The minutes passed by, as Thorn debated asking the dreaded question. He swallowed hard in his throat, and Ambrosius listened to the sound of apprehension.

"Hey, Thorn?" He asked, before his lover could speak.

"Huh? What?" Thorn asked, curious and wondering briefly if perhaps he'd misinterpreted the meaning behind their conversation. Ambrosius snuggled in closer, slipping an arm around him to him against his body. Thorn put his arm around him in turn.

"Maybe... Maybe after my next tour, I'll... you know, get off the pills," he said softly. Thorn blinked a few times, then looked down, baffled by the change. After his next tour? So... what, in two years?

"Are... you sure? Like, I don't want you to think you have to do this. And I don't want my feelings about this to pressure you into making a decision. In the end, it's your body, not mine."

"No, but you were right, earlier... This relationship is about the two of us. And maybe I'm not ready right now, for a kid, I mean, but I will be someday. What I'm saying is, someday, I wouldn't mind having kids. And this is me talking, not influenced by you or my dads, or anyone else. Cuz... The more I think about it, the more I realize I'm seeing all the bad things about it, and not even stopping to think about the good things." Thorn nodded slowly as Ambrosius looked up at him with a smile.

"Like seeing you go into daddy mode. Something tells me you're going to be super overprotective. Male or female or whatever. And I just... keep remembering the way you sit in the living room at my dad's place on visits, letting Keros and Holly snuggle all over you. It's cute."

"I make good monkey bars," Thorn agreed. Ambrosius laughed.

"Yeah... and you'd make a good dad too."

"You too, Ambrosius. You'd be a wonderful dad... Because you're a wonderful boyfriend," he murmured and Ambrosius smiled as he looked up at him, "You're my partner in crime, my best friend, my greatest inspiration, and my soulmate. Our kids would be lucky to have a dad like you."

"I love you so much," Ambrosius whispered, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Thorn smiled, stroking the hair back from his lover's face to admire the way those blue eyes lit up.

"I love you too, Ambrosius."

------

A/N: Figured I'd answer those "is he preggers" questions, hehe. No, he's not... Not yet. We'll see where his life takes him, and Thorn. Cutie patooties. Snuggle bunnies. Ugh, all this fluffy bunny stuff is just so much. Why is everyone and everything so cute. They're cute. Y'all cute. ANYWAY. I hope you guys enjoyed this little slice of BroBro Thorn love nesting!