Happy Holidays!

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ '*:;,．★ ～☆・:.,;*

 "I don't get why we're celebrating this holiday. Jesus wasn't even born on December 25th. He was born on--"

"I know when he was born, Hades, but that's not the point. The point of the holiday is to bring people together for a decent-- You're not even listening to me, are you?"

Lucifer paused decorating the large white Christmas tree in the middle of the throne room to glare scornfully at his lover. It'd taken him at least two hours and angry sex to finally convince Hades to allow the Christmas decorations in his throne room, turning it from dark and evil to cheery and merry. He wasn't sure what made Hades so angry around the holidays, but he wasn't too surprised. Hades had also put up a fuss about celebrating Halloween and other holidays Lucifer found quite fun to indulge in.

Even so, Hades's complaints didn't deter Lucifer from his mood. He was determined to have a normal holiday celebration with his new family. A family that was incredibly large given all of Hades's children and their families as well. He'd managed to bribe his children into spreading the word, so now they'd managed to convince all their children to show up at the palace for the holiday.

Not that it had been as easy as convincing Hades.

In fact, from what Lucifer was told, Theo had to be bribed, Cain was still a maybe, Zelios pleaded with, and even Akin had been surprisingly hesitant. It was stunning to think that someone so cheerful and bright as Akin wouldn't want to attend, but considering the relationship between Hannibal and Hades, well... Lucifer understood Hades's hesitation, but Hades had finally relented with the promise that he receive plenty of gifts.

My spoiled baby. Lucifer thought dryly as he watched Hades walk up to a hanging blue ornament, flicking it with his fingernail skeptically.

Even so, he was grateful to have Hades by his side during the holidays. It was their first Christmas together as an official item, as the media was calling it. Even though Hades and Lucifer hadn't publicly been open about their relationship, there was no hiding it from the media. They were around every corner and in every nook and cranny. Even as gods, avoiding them was impossible.

Still, Lucifer found a satisfied thrill at having the whole universe know about his relationship with Hades. It kept Zeus at bay, as well as several of Hades's ex-whores. Now he had the Greek god of the underworld all to himself.

A slow smile spread across his lips as he stepped back from the tree to watch Hades scan the tree from top to bottom. Hades was more than just a whiny brat most of the time. He was also an incredibly gifted scientist and had managed to come up with several high-class weapons and defensive gear as well as a new cell phone line, Internet server, and had even created his own artificial race of creatures. The god was a genius. And devastatingly sexy to boot.

Lucifer watched the tight black jeans hug Hades's firm butt when he stooped to look under the tree, his arms folded over his chest. He wore a black knit v-neck and a matching button up shirt below it with a pair of ankle boots to finish off his attire. Enough black to make Lucifer wonder if Hades just shopped at the Black Sea that separated their realms. The only color on the god, aside from his light olive skin, were a pair of piercing glowing blue eyes. Blue eyes that matched the lights decorating the trees and the ornaments hanging from its branches. A large white swirled design star with blue lights spotting it sat at the top of the tree and the entire structure itself lit up the room ten times more than it usually was, making it much brighter and cheerier.

Unable to stand the allure of Hades's butt in those jeans, Lucifer drifted over behind Hades, very gently placing his hands on the Greek's hips to avoid startling his lover. It pained him whenever Hades hissed and jumped away from him due to his negligent sneak kisses. It was the nightmares that were rooted in those reactions that hurt Lucifer the most.

Thankfully, he'd approached just cautiously enough so that Hades didn't leap away or yell at him. Instead, Hades cocked his head, letting Lucifer brush the god's long black hair over his shoulder to expose that delicious throat.

"What happened to prissy-ing up my throne room?" Hades asked sulkily, averting his blue eyes to glare at something else. Lucifer smiled against Hades's hair, then dipped his head in to kiss Hades's neck, watching goosebumps creep onto his skin.

"You distracted me." Lucifer answered. Hades hummed and went to move away, but Lucifer wrapped his arms around Hades's torso, a hand sliding up his shirt. Hades smirked, catching Lucifer's hand between the shirt and his chest.

"What'd you think you're doing in the middle of my throne room, archangel?"

"Would you prefer somewhere more private?"

"Considering we almost eternally scarred Cerberus that one time... Nah. Let's do it." Hades decided, turning in Lucifer's arms. Lucifer chuckled and put his arms around Hades's hips, drawing him close until their lips touched. Lucifer tried for a softer, gentler kiss, but Hades was having none of it. Giving a low hungry growl born of the depths of unsated lust, Hades returned Lucifer's timid peck with a deep passionate kiss. Lucifer groaned as Hades took control of the kiss and the two of them went back onto a white chaise Hades had brought in for lounging while Lucifer had done all the tree work.

Lucifer fell on his back, gasping as Hades sat on top of him, wriggling his hips a little suggestively while pulling his shirt off over his head and tossing it on the floor so it slid under the tree. Lucifer barely had time to remove his own shirt before Hades was all over him again, kissing him heatedly.

"You're awfully starving for someone who just went a whole hour of this." Lucifer commented as Hades moved his lips to his jawline. Hades nipped at his chin, raking his nails down Lucifer's chest to create pink marks.

"Mmhm. Well, you initiated it and you are forcing me to do that weird social thing that people are into nowadays. So feed me, Lucy."

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" Lucifer growled, catching Hades's legs and twisting them around so Hades was the one laying back on the chaise. Hades's eyes flashed with a quick moment of panic, but Lucifer refused to let Hades cave into that. He didn't want Hades to think about Zeus and what had happened between the brothers, especially not now. He wanted Hades to focus on him, and only him. It burned deep in his craw that Hades would even think about Zeus at a time like this.

Hades belonged to him.

And he intended to show the Greek god just that.

Lucifer drew Hades's hands into his own, lacing their fingers together as he took control of Hades's mouth. Hades squirmed beneath him, growling and clenching his legs on either side of Lucifer's hips. Their tongue battle for dominance ended with Lucifer getting nipped hard enough to bleed on his lower lip.

"Let me up." Hades growled, blue eyes flashing. Lucifer tilted his head.

"You have all the power in the world, Hades. Make me stop if you truly want me to stop." He replied, then dipped his head down to suckle his throat. Hades groaned, arching his back and clenching his legs tighter around Lucifer's waist.

He hated it when Lucifer insisted on doing this. He preferred riding Lucifer until the archangel couldn't move the next morning. He liked to have control over the situation, for obvious reasons, but there were times when Lucifer refused to listen. He tried to convince himself he didn't like it. What was there to like about a man who refused to take no as an answer? What about Lucifer made Hades want to submit? It made his stubborn half furious.

He knew why Lucifer was doing this, and he knew it was rooted in Lucifer's twisted idea of goodness, but he wasn't sure he wanted to get used to having Lucifer control everything. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea, even now after months of being in a relationship, he wasn't entirely okay with the whole trusting and loving thing. Both of those things were new concepts that Hades was used to getting slapped in the face with.

And even though Lucifer was insistent that their relationship would last, that it would be built on a foundation of trust, love, happiness, honesty, he still had trouble believing it was real. Nothing like this ever happened to him. Every person he'd ever let into his heart had taken it, balled it up, and threw it in the trash while laughing. Now, he was handing his broken and bruised heart over to someone else, waiting for Lucifer to do the same, but he treated it the same way he had that day Zeus had tricked the archangel into literally ripping it out.

He kissed it and put it back and protected it.

Suddenly turned on by the idea of actually having a solid and permanent relationship, Hades rutted his hips up against Lucifer's, grinding themselves together and emitting a hungry growl from both lovers.

"You changed your mind fast." Lucifer murmured against Hades's lips. Hades flashed his fangs, then flicked his tongue across them.

"Shut up and do it." He answered huskily. Lucifer laughed quietly and gave him a nod before complying with the very Hades-like demand. He paused to wave his hand, slamming a barrier down around them, locking the doors, and stripping their clothing off before leaning down to run his hands over Hades's bare skin. More goosebumps crept across his skin.

Licking his lips, Lucifer dipped his head down between Hades's legs and took him into his mouth. Hades gasped and arched his back, reaching back to clench his fist so tight on the top of the chaise that his knuckles turned white. He sank his teeth into his lip, avoiding his fangs, hissing as Lucifer's mouth worked a steady, sensual rhythm around him. He savored every flick of the archangel's tongue, every wet popping sound Lucifer's lips made when they lifted off him, only to sink back around him.

Lucifer lifted his hand to tease Hades's balls, giving them a soft tug before moving his lips to them, placing wet kisses here and there, watching Hades pant and sweat. He was a mess, and he loved it.

Only he could make Hades feel this beautiful, this hot.

His whole body radiated heat as he watched Hades seethe with pleasure, legs twitching as he went down around the hard shaft, down so hard that his nose collided with crisp black hairs. He inhaled the sweet pungent odor that was unique to his lover before Hades shuddered and released straight down his throat. He swallowed every last drop of precious fluids before drawing back to wipe his hand across his mouth, watching Hades breath heavily, slumping against the chaise.

"You're beautiful." Lucifer murmured, moving to nuzzle his nose against Hades's cheek before raining kisses down on his face until he could suckle the god's ear-lobe. Hades groaned, moving one hand up to slide across Lucifer's muscular corded back.

He had no idea what to say in response to Lucifer's whispered compliments that continued to assault his ears. He wasn't accustomed to being complimented, and he made sure of that. He knew full well he was a pain in the ass. And the fact that Lucifer could put up with him, flaws and strengths, attested to his constant "I love yous".

So instead of replying, he reached down and took Lucifer's hand into his, leading it between his legs to stroke him back to hardness, which wasn't very hard considering how horny Hades suddenly felt.

And his whole body ached as he collided against Lucifer, resulting in a deep moan from the archangel above him. He licked his lips, watching the head of Lucifer's cock rub against his own. His whole body ached to have that thick rod inside him, again and again. He groaned at the thought and slowly slid his legs up over Lucifer's hips before wrapping them around him.

"Enough with the foreplay. Remind me why I let you put that stupid thing up in my throne room." Hades breathed against Lucifer's lips, their foreheads resting together as he gestured to the tree with a slight head tilt. Lucifer smiled, kissed Hades one last time, then conjured a bottle of lube despite Hades's eye roll at the consideration.

It gave Lucifer a slight spark in anger that Hades had experienced this enough to find lubrication unimportant. It was never his intention to cause Hades harm. He wanted to give Hades the ultimate pleasure.

So he applied the peppermint ooze to himself and between Hades's legs, causing them to tingle and Hades shuddered.

"Shit, what is that?" He breathed, shifting awkwardly beneath Lucifer, who shrugged.

"I figured peppermint would be appropriate and I hear it's quite nice." He replied. Hades paused to let that sink in, a shudder wracking him as the peppermint continued to tingle.

God, this feels fantastic. Hades thought, biting his lip as Lucifer guided himself slowly inside. He closed his eyes tightly as Lucifer invaded his defenses, filling him so deeply that he couldn't stop a low whimper in the back of his throat.

Lucifer smiled warmly as Hades opened himself up to him, and whimpered in pleasure. His cheeks were flushed, sweat causing his hair to stick to the sides of his face. He shuddered as Hades clenched around him for a moment before relaxing. In that moment, he took the initiative and began to rut his hips against Hades, who arched his back and moaned. He threw his arms up around Lucifer's neck and jerked him down for a mind-blowing kiss, raking his nails up and down that tough muscular back.

Lucifer panted, thrusting up against him, the sound of skin slapping, slick with peppermint that permeated his senses in a way he'd never known. His entire body was on fire with desire, his heart pounding vigorously in his chest as he leaned back to prop himself up on his hands, thrusting inside the god beneath him. Hades writhed and squirmed beneath him, whimpering and mewling with pleasure, baring his fangs in a silent scream of desperation.

He'd never seen Hades so riled up before. Normally it took some work to get Hades to open up.

He wasn't sure what he'd done to make Hades so blind with pleasure, but he hoped it would last.

He thrust his hips up at a particular angle and Hades cried out, sinking his nails into Lucifer's flesh, cutting small red half-moons into pale skin. Lucifer only managed a breathless gasp, arching his back and reaching for that spot again, watching Hades bit his lip in an attempt to silence himself. Not that it mattered with the barrier down.

And Hades was suddenly grateful for that barrier. The closer and closer he neared climax, the less he was able to hold back. His throat was blocked with sobs of pleasure, his teeth clenched tight and his body quivering from the intrusions, quivering from trying to hold back the pent up stress. He wasn't sure what he was stressed about either. He just knew how much he wanted to scream half the time, but never did and now he had the chance and it was boiling over.

Now, he wanted to scream in ecstasy. He wanted to pound himself down on Lucifer's cock until he tore in half, until he couldn't move anymore.

And then it hit him.

A violent climax that rocked him to the core and he screamed, arching himself up against Lucifer and taking him into his arms tightly, muscles clenching around him. Lucifer growled, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he listened to Hades's cry echo through the room, watched Hades's usually scowling expression turn into one of utter euphoria. A swell of pride and relief washed through him to finally see Hades break out of his shell, even if it was just for a moment.

Seeing Hades experience such bliss was enough to have him coming, biting his lip and gasping in release as he spilled himself inside Hades, enough so that, after a couple minutes of gasping for breath, it oozed out after Lucifer removed himself. Hades hissed as he did, reaching down to dip his finger against his swollen entrance.

"Jesus Christ, Lucifer. You almost ripped me apart." He growled. Lucifer just smiled at the over-exaggeration as he drew his hand down to take Hades's away, bringing it to his lips so he could place a soft kiss over his knuckles.

"You're the one who screamed like you liked it." He replied. Hades huffed, yanking his hand back to wipe on the chaise before he slumped back against the pillows, throwing his hair out across them.

"Yeah, well, whatever," He muttered, unable to think clearly enough for a rebuttal, "Where's that bottle of peppermint, by the way?"

"Why?"

"I think I just found a great Christmas gift for my kids."

"Oh, Hades, don't."

"Nothing says I love you and I want to embarrass you for the rest of eternity like buying your kids lube. And I bet you looked pretty dazzling walking into a sex shop to buy this, didn't you, you pervert?"

"Hades, please."

☆彡 ★彡 ☆彡 ★彡

"Choo!" Theo sneezed and nearly banged his head on the mirror in the bathroom, pausing to take a step back so he could scowl at his appearance.

Allergies? he wondered briefly, before shaking the silly thought away so he could snatch up the make-up cloth to wipe the eyeliner off his eyes. He couldn't do it anymore. He had no idea how Sept managed to get his so perfect. How he could make his dark eyes even darker, more sensual, alluring... Theo bit his lip, glancing sideways at the door to make sure Sept wasn't planning to burst in on him before he closed his eyes and reached down to his groin.

He hadn't had a little alone time with himself since he and Sept had gotten together. Sept kept him plenty satisfied, but it was oddly nostalgic to touch himself like this again. Back then, he hadn't been sure what to use as masturbation material. He hadn't been in love with anyone at the time, and even now, it was still such a confusing idea.

Love.

He'd seen everyone else fall in love. His brothers, his father, and even his heartless bitch mother had fallen in love with Hades. And yet, it felt as if it had just been out of his grasp. So he stopped trying to grab for it. Obviously the Fates didn't want him to have love. And he had found it so incredibly unfair. He tried to be likable, but every time he'd tried to reach out to be kind to someone, he was always slapped for it.

Literally.

In fact, his mother had taken his hand and pressed it to a hot stove once because he'd dared to give food to one of the servants. When asked what had happened, the servant had adamantly refused to say they'd accepted the food from Theo, and instead pointed their finger at him. His mother had killed the servant after finding out they accepted the food, and Theo, after being burned, had been beaten bloody and locked in his room for a week without food.

Oh yeah, love had definitely been there for him all right. Ever a tempting poison.

At least, until he met Sept.

He always expected Sept to ask something in return for his love, to beat him if he did something that made him angry, or hell, beat him even when he was compliant. Something he told himself he'd kill Sept for, not that he ever could and damn him for that weakness, but it didn't matter. Sept never asked him for something in return, never hurt him, and never pushed away his rare moments of vulnerability.

Suddenly choked up about the whole matter and steadily going soft, Theo cleared his throat and slammed his fist down on the countertop hard enough to bruise his hand, distracting himself from unwanted thoughts. He gave up on trying to look remotely sexy and opted for something more casual. He left his messy blood red hair the way it was, wavy and down to his shoulder, parted on the side, and changed into a pair of low ride black jeans, a burgundy sweater, and leather jacket before he pulled on his boots and went out into the room just as Sept was coming in.

His breath caught in his throat at the sight of Sept looking stunningly handsome. A pure Egyptian through and through, Sept was gifted with a warm bronze skin tone, long black hair, and chocolate eyes. His thick black eyeliner only set off that darkness even more, his hair tied in a loose ponytail over his shoulder. He wore a black wool coat over a red/black plaid button up, and black slacks.

"Are you ready to head over to your father's?" Sept asked, voice rich with an Egyptian accent that made Theo shudder and want to moan. He was half-tempted to throw their clothes off and spend the rest of the night making love, but he'd been promised a nice hefty sum for attending this party. That, and he had also been guilt-tripped.

"Come on, Theo. This is for your father. He's never had a Christmas party with his family before." Dania had told him when she came around to inform him of the party in the first place. His stomach shrank when he thought about his father, and all the newly acquired information he had on him. He hated to think the amount of times he'd gone to family reunions and watched Zeus take Hades somewhere around back. He'd always thought they'd gone to torture people or discuss the intake of souls. Never once did it cross his mind that Zeus was actually...

"Yeah," Theo said, quickly pushing that particular nightmare aside, "Let's head over there." Sept smiled, coming forward to take his lover's hand in his.

"Let's." He agreed.

☆彡 ★彡 ☆彡 ★彡

"This is kind of exciting," Adrian said as he wrapped a scarf around his neck, giving it a bit of a tug so it wasn't choking him, "I've never had a family Christmas party before." Malachi could only smile at the rare excitement on Adrian's face. He adored watching Adrian get so happy about things he'd once thought trivial or stupid.

It'd been touch and go there for a while during their relationship, and a couple of times, Malachi had sworn Adrian was going to break it off. He knew he was impossible to deal with sometimes, what with the constant temptation of returning to his alcoholism, but Adrian had held onto him. He'd been surprised when Adrian had come to him and asked if he wanted their relationship to end, because Adrian had honestly believed that Malachi could find someone better.

It had killed the part of Malachi that had thought their relationship would never work. He knew, and now so did Adrian, with full confidence that if they could push through the nightmares that plagued his lover and the temptation that stalked Malachi every time he passed by a bar, that their relationship was going to last for a very, very long time.

And so he smiled now, watching Adrian dress for the Christmas party to be held at Hades's palace. He could barely breath from the beauty twirling around in front of him with excitement. Adrian had become a beautiful man, nearly reaching his own height at six foot. His blonde hair was laced with more shades of blonde, and longer now, to his shoulders and wavy. His blue eyes shown much more brightly than they had when they first met, when Adrian had still been just a child. His skin held a healthy golden glow to it, and he looked stunning in a pair of blue jeans, a blue cable knit sweater, under a blue brass-buttoned cape coat.

"I wonder if we should bring anything." Adrian said thoughtfully as he paused in the middle of pulling on his boots. Malachi wasn't sure what to bring either, or if they should bring anything at all. The girl, Dania, who'd come to them to inform them of the party in the first place hadn't mentioned anything. Simply that they should attend out of the goodness of their hearts, to be together for a family dinner for the holidays.

Adrian had said yes before Malachi could even ponder the ludicrous idea.

A Christmas party at Hades's palace?

Once upon a time, he would've laughed in her face and told her to contact the nearest asylum for a psycho analysis, but that was before he'd learned the truth about his father. A truth that made his stomach churn in disgust. He'd never thought his father, proud and powerful and arrogant Hades, would be the victim of a much higher crime.

Betrayal.

After having heard the full story, and his mother explained to him, he wasn't sure what to think. He didn't want to believe his mother would've been so cruel, but how could he ever know? He didn't know a thing about his mother. She'd died giving birth to him. He'd always been told that Hades raped her, but he'd discovered the truth after a horrific slideshow of Hades's life had played before his eyes.

He'd been there with Cerberus, Thorn, and Raven when the slideshow had gotten to him and Cerberus. Thorn and Raven had been trying to get their attention, but to no avail, and when the slideshow had been over, even Cerberus had been trembling as he stared at the ground. They had no words for the horror that had been shown to them, and when they had met up with the rest of their brothers, no mere words could describe the overwhelming guilt and agony they felt.

The anger still brewed, over the things Hades had done to them, but there was an understanding now that allowed them to tolerate their father, a mutual agreement to give Hades a chance. And that was what Malachi intended to do at this party. Give Hades another chance to not ruin a building relationship.

"It'll be okay." Malachi blinked and looked up from his staring contest with the floor to see Adrian standing in front of him with a reassuring smile on his face. He took Malachi's hands into his and  gave them a squeeze. Malachi smiled again, drawing Adrian into his arms so he could rest his head against Adrian's chest. Adrian put his arms around him in turn, cradling him close.

He never thought he could be so lucky to have Malachi here with him. The day he'd fallen through Inferi, he'd thought his life was over. No, even before that. He woke up every morning to a dark cramped and smelly closet in his father's room, sobbing and asking why he hadn't been killed overnight by some kind of infection or disease. Come to find out, it was his godhood keeping him from death. And he'd been furious over the discovery, but he couldn't stay angry for long.

If he had died in that rotten hovel, he'd never would have met Malachi.

And Malachi was his savior.

For the longest time, he questioned whether he even deserved Malachi at all. He was so used to being spit on, kicked, beaten, degraded. The idea of letting someone else in, only to do the same thing, made his stomach twist in knots. It wasn't until he realized Malachi was also suffering from anxiety and fear about their relationship not working out, of being wary of trusting the other. When he realized Malachi was just like him, he'd broken down and taken Malachi into his arms for the first time and for the first time, sex wasn't a weapon of destruction.

Malachi had made it beautiful and gentle and sweet. A small laugh escaped Adrian as he remembered the first time they had sex. Malachi had been skittish and bashful. He had accidentally elbowed Adrian in the eye, making him squeak and Malachi had spent a few minutes showering him with apologies, blushing furiously.

"What're you laughing about?" Malachi asked suspiciously, peering up at Adrian, who laughed again as he cupped Malachi's head in his hands, leaning down to kiss his nose.

"Nothing. Just remembering how much of a dork you are." He replied. Malachi wrinkled his nose.

"You're the only person I know who would call a powerful demigod a dork." He said. Adrian grinned, leaning down to rub his nose against Malachi's. Malachi smiled and nuzzled him back before they shared a sweet kiss.

"Come on," Adrian murmured, "We have a party to get to."

☆彡 ★彡 ☆彡 ★彡

"If you had told me a year ago that we'd be getting ready to go to a Christmas party at your dad's, I would've laughed." Noe said, zipping up his navy/white knit sweater. He paused when he didn't receive a response, turning to see Zelios staring at his own reflection. A smile crept onto his lips as he tilted his head, watching Zelios space out.

The whole situation was weird for him, but he wondered just how weird it was for Zelios. He felt a little sorry for his lover. Zelios had only just recently discovered the truth about his father and Zelios had locked himself in his office after the war to beat himself up over the whole thing. He knew Zelios prided himself on knowing everything, on being intelligent, observant. Even though the demigod had been totally oblivious to his centuries of crushing.

He knew it was due to Zelios's low self-esteem. The idea of "this person could never love me" was what kept Zelios from acting on his own romantic feelings for the oracle. But Noe forgave him, because he, too, thought Zelios would never feel the same.

But now everything was different.

Zelios, a hardworking workaholic, would actually put his papers down to come find Noe for the sole purpose of cuddling and spending time together. He'd even managed to get Zelios to join him in the new pool they'd installed in the palace, and he had taught Zelios how to play video games too. Although, it was more entertaining to watch Zelios struggle with the controller than actually play the game.

"Are you all right?" Noe asked sweetly, coming over to stand beside Zelios, who blinked and snapped out of his daze to turn and look down at the precious creature who stared up at him with periwinkle eyes that seemed to see right through him. A smile fell across Zelios's lips as he reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind Noe's ear, and he cupped a soft cheek in his hand.

"Yes. Just coming to terms with the fact that we are having a party at my father's." He said, then let go of Noe to turn back to the mirror. Noe smiled even more, amused with Zelios's preoccupation with his appearance. Zelios was used to fine silks and satin, traditional Japanese style clothing like yukatas and kimonos. Now, Zelios had been taken from his comfort zone and was wearing an open collar white knit sweater over a black button down shirt and red tie, a pair of dark jeans finishing off his attire. He'd even tied his long red hair into a loose braid over his shoulder, his bangs sideswept.

Noe bit his lip and innocently peered behind Zelios to study his firm perky butt in those jeans. A smirk crept onto his lips and he reached back, pinching Zelios's buttcheek, making the taller man jump. Noe laughed as Zelios scowled, reaching back to cover his butt. He even moved so that his butt was facing the other direction now, which only made Noe laugh more.

"I should do that more often," Noe snickered, "It's fun watching you jump like ten feet in the air." Zelios pretended to be miffed, but he really couldn't. Not when Noe was laughing so beautifully, and dressed so impeccably. The beige corduroy pants hugged Noe's slender figure well, and the sweater only made his periwinkle eyes even brighter.

Wanting to get a little revenge, he approached Noe and stooped to kiss his forehead. Noe smiled, then yelped when Zelios reached behind and pinched him back. Noe blushed right to the tips of his ears and Zelios smiled.

"A little revenge. And a reminder of what is to come when this party is over." He said. Noe grinned, reaching up to pull Zelios down by the front of his shirt so their lips could collide in a passionate kiss that broke apart with both lovers breathing deeply, cheeks flushed.

"I look forward to it." Noe murmured against his lips. Zelios smiled secretly.

"As do I, love."

☆彡 ★彡 ☆彡 ★彡

"I don't get why we have to go to this stupid thing anyway. I don't even like half the attendees, and I heard Hannibal was going. Do you really expect me to friggin' sit there and eat at the same goddamn table with that monster? I think I'd rather choke on Titan dick than be near him."

Abel twitched, trying not to let Cain's fifth rant in the past hour get to him, but it was trying his patience and he only had so much before he snapped. He took a deep breath, sliding his Nightmare Before Christmas t-shirt on before pulling his white hoodie on, then raked a hand through his navy blue hair to dye in dark brown for the occasion. Just when he was about to pull his pants on, literally stooped over to pull them up his legs, he felt Cain's presence behind him and hissed when Cain took his hips and pressed against him.

"Maybe we should just skip out on the lame party and have a party of our own?" Cain suggested, raising an eyebrow at Abel's glare in the mirror. Abel jerked his pants up, making Cain scowl as he watched Abel zip up his black jeans.

"For once in your life, Cain, don't be a friggin' jerk. I'm excited about this. We finally get to be somewhat normal." Abel insisted, folding his arms over his chest. Cain curled his lip, duplicating Abel's pose.

"I don't want to. You're making me sit at a table with people who piss me the hell off. I don't want to be anywhere near them during the holidays. I want to stay here with you." As if to help his case, Cain pouted and gave Abel a very good puppy stare. Abel clenched his teeth.

No, he wasn't going to let Cain talk him into this. He had been ecstatic when Dania had come to him, telling him about the Christmas party. Nothing thrilled him more than spending time with his family, especially after they'd managed to work most of the kinks out of the relationships. Hades had finally come around, and was even going to attend this party himself, with Lucifer. It made Abel blissfully happy that his small broken family had not only managed to grow exponentially, but they'd managed to piece some things together. They were still shaky, but this party could be one of the things to help the family solidify.

Abel had always dreamed of having a large family, people there to support each other. Oh, sure, his brothers pissed him off from time to time and he always dreaded April Fool's day, Theo's favorite holiday, that involved tormenting everyone in sight, but this was his family. Even Theo, for all his negativity, was attending. And after having seen Theo broken and shattered after the Titan attack, Abel wanted only to see his little brother happy. Even more so, he wanted to see Ambrosius get along with Hades for once without getting into some kind of trivial argument. He wanted to sit with Blaine and cuddle with his niece and nephew.

"No," Abel said, the thought of being with Blaine's children making him stand firm, "We're going to that party, Cain. Maybe you don't care, but I do. That's our family. Our brothers. Our probably soon-to-be sisters-in-law. Our niece and nephews." Cain curled his lip.

"It's not my fault. I didn't ask for them to be my family."

"Cain! Ugh, you know what? Just stay here. Stay here all alone in a dark cold mansion and get drunk on your own, because I'm going to that party whether you're going or not, so you can just fuck off. God, is it too much to ask for a brother who isn't a jerk? And not just a brother, my other half. But I guess that's why people call you the evil twin. Because you really are evil." Abel snapped angrily, and vanished on the spot to head to the party.

Cain wanted to scream in anger and pain at having Abel abandon him, again. Now that Abel's powers were equal to his own, Abel always used them to teleport past the barrier on his palace to go to his own palace, his own city in Elysium. It wasn't that he wasn't proud of Abel; he was. He was so happy to see Abel live his life the way he wanted to now. He liked seeing Abel happy and proud and in a good mood ninety percent of the time, but it also meant that Abel wouldn't be around him more.

Ever since Abel had gotten his job back, he was too busy half the time to pay attention to Cain. It hurt. Abel was the only thing that kept him remotely sane. He knew he was difficult at times. He didn't meant to be. His temper flared and he was a slave to it. Oh sure, he could take anger management, but who the hell would want to be his therapist? For all they know, his temper could snap and he could actually hurt the person trying to help him.

Like he did with Abel. He always hurt Abel and he hated himself for it. If he was as pathetic as Theo, he'd probably punish himself with a razor too. And that single thought made him go cold. He wasn't sure how to feel about Theo's habit. Abel had told him a long time ago about Theo's cutting, but he'd brushed it off at the time as Theo vying for attention again.

Because let's face it, Theo's the biggest attention whore in the family.

But the fact that Theo didn't flash his scars was only further proof that it wasn't for attention; Theo was honestly in pain and trying to cover it up with physical pain. And Cain found himself sympathizing with his baby brother. He knew what it felt like to be in pain and wanting to get rid of it anyway possible.

Cain had jumped from alcohol to drugs to getting into fist fights when he'd been trapped in the mortal realm without Abel. He'd spent nights screaming and crying, praying to God to bring his brother back, but he'd only been responded with silence. God had abandoned him. It wasn't until he'd been lured down into the Underworld and confronted by Hades.

And that confrontation hadn't been kind either.

"If you ever do something that stupid again, I will bring down a wrath upon your head that'll make God's look like a damn tea party." Hades had told him when they first met. Hades had been enraged over his betrayal of Abel, but no amount of yelling from Hades could ever make him feel worse than himself.

Cain couldn't believe his stupidity, his ignorance, and his selfishness.

And he still couldn't believe Abel even forgave him. Well, not forgave. He knew Abel didn't forgive him. But rather, wanted to put it behind them and start fresh.

And him ruining Abel's chance at a normal family life was not helping his odds.

Frustrated, Cain trudged to his wardrobe. Wanting to match his twin out of habit, Cain chose his Nightmare Before Christmas corset and called Kat in to lace it up before she left for her own Christmas party with Leon's aunt and uncle in Kenya, Africa, in the mortal realm.

"It's very nice of you to go to the party for Abel." Kat commented as she laced up the corset, then stepped back to watch Cain study himself in the mirror with a frown.

"Yeah, whatever." He muttered. Kat just smiled, folding her arms over her chest as she watched Cain pull on a pair of  black leather pants and knee-high boots before snatching a leather jacket from his wardrobe. Her employer, and best friend, never ceased to amaze her. Cain was probably the most callous, cruel, self-centered individual in the world. And yet, he still managed to buckle down for the one he loved.

"I hope you have fun, Cain. Good luck. And happy holidays." Kat said. Cain paused, then looked over at the only person aside from Abel who could tolerate his very disagreeable personality. He looked away, hiding the light tint of pink in his cheeks.

"Yeah. You too, Kat." He replied. Kat smiled, then dared to come forward and place a kiss on Cain's cheek before vanishing to spend the holidays with her new family. Cain blinked and touched his cheek, still baffled by Kat's kindness. He could never understand how that masochistic woman could stand his presence, let alone be so familiar and gentle with him. It was things like friendship and romance that confused him.

Emotions. Ever fickle.

Cain sighed and turned to look at himself in the mirror.

"Time to party.... God, this is gonna friggin' suck."

☆彡 ★彡 ☆彡 ★彡

Cerberus watched with a smirk on his face, sitting on a mushroom fairy tale designed sofa, as his husband tried to dress their daughter in a pink fluffy Santa dress. Holly was such a brat sometimes as she wriggled out of Blaine's arms and tried to crawl over to Keros, who sat in silence on Cerberus's lap like a patient little boy.

"I'm going to get her one of those leashes for kids," Blaine ranted, grabbing Holly up into his arms again and managed to get one of her sparkly little booties on her tiny feet, "Let's see her try and get away on that." Cerberus just laughed. There was no way they could tame their daughter. She was as wild and crazy as Blaine. He was just worried what the girl's teenage years was going to be like.

He looked down at Keros, who sat in his lap, watching the scene while sucking on his thumb. Keros wore a cute red sparkly headband with horns attached to it and a Christmas mistletoe tied to one horn, his dark hair brushed back from his face so his blue eyes seemed even bluer and wider. He wore a red santa outfit with a jacket that laid open to reveal his shirt underneath that read daddy's little devil in bloody red font. He was holding his one-eyed goth bunny in one arm.

Cerberus put his hands under Keros's arms and pulled him up so he was resting against his chest, reaching over to take Keros's thumb out of his mouth.

"What did I tell you about sucking your thumb?" Cerberus scolded. Keros sniffed, reaching for his thumb and looking about ready to cry. Cerberus sighed and conjured a black and red pacifier before pushing it into Keros's mouth gently. Keros relaxed, suckling on the pacifier and relaxing against Cerberus's chest again, opting for a nap.

Blaine glanced out the corner of his eye to see if Cerberus had even been listening to his rant as he finally managed to get Holly into her pink Santa dress, only to see a sight that warmed his very soul.

Nothing pleased him more than seeing Cerberus cuddle their son. Keros looked so much smaller in Cerberus's arms, sucking on a goth pacifier. He tried to talk Cerberus into dressing him a little more cheerfully, but Cerberus had adamantly refused.

"My son is not going to wear the typical elf outfit. My kid's a badass and everyone should know it." Cerberus had told him when he suggested an elf costume at the store. And unfortunately for him, Keros had giggled and cooed at the red horns Cerberus had bought him. So he let Cerberus take over on Keros's fashion statements, but he wasn't going to let Holly wear that. Besides, his baby girl had an obsession with anything pink and sparkly and the Santa outfit had jumped out at him the moment he saw it at the shop.

If only Holly knew the definition of sit your butt down, Blaine thought dryly. But it didn't matter now. He'd gotten Holly dressed and she was making cute baby noises, grasping for her other daddy. Blaine picked her up in his arms and she practically shrieked happily, waving her arms around as if she were flying. Blaine smiled and kissed her chubby cheek, making his little girl giggle and clap her hands.

"Could you hold onto her while I get dressed?" He asked, coming over to Cerberus, who nodded. He took Holly from him with ease, one giant paw supporting her as he drew her against his shoulder. Holly snuggled against him and made bubbles with her mouth, making Cerberus laugh.

Blaine bit his lip, pausing for a moment to stare at his husband.

He never would have thought he'd be so lucky to have a family like this. There had been a time when he dreamt of it, but that dream had been viciously taken away from him at the hands of a man he thought he could trust, a man he thought loved him more than anything in the world. And that darkest moment had shut him down. He stopped hoping, stopped praying, stopped dreaming. The very thought of having a family made him weep. He'd come so close to having it and it'd been taken from him.

But then he'd met Cerberus, and granted, their relationship in the beginning had been rocky and cruel at best, violent at worst. He never would have imagined this kind of life with Cerberus, never. He'd loathed the overgrown artificial dog the moment they met, but could he really fault him? Cerberus hadn't been created with emotions. He had no concept of love or tenderness. And Blaine knew that he himself hadn't been easy to deal with either. He'd all, but gone insane after his first baby had been taken and killed in front of him.

Even now, he woke up with nightmares, sobbing and rushing to his babies to make sure they were still there, still safe. And Cerberus was always there for him, holding him while he cried and reassuring him that everything would be all right. He, a pathetic fae slave, had managed to teach this creature how to love. And even though Cerberus didn't know it, he had taught Blaine to love again. Something the fae never thought possible.

Choking himself up with tears, he quickly departed from the room and went to shower, dressing in a pair of blue jeans and a low key black/white Christmas sweater. He tied his hair into a loose ponytail slightly to the side so it fell over his shoulder. He returned to the nursery to find Cerberus asleep, his head back against the sofa, his long hair loose and hanging around his shoulders, some of it resting comically on Holly's head.

Blaine resisted the urge to laugh out loud at the sight of his two precious babies in the arms of a giant sleeping dog beast. But he could think of no safer place than in Cerberus's arms. Cerberus was feared for a reason.

Ridiculously tall to the point of being even taller than Hades, a feat not easily done, Cerberus towered over everyone he came in contact with. He was incredibly ripped with warm olive skin stretched over tight muscles, his bright red eyes currently hidden behind a pair of wraparound shades. He wore a black leather jacket with a reindeer skeleton on the back, and a skull wearing a Santa hat on the front of his black t-shirt, and black jeans with little bells jingling from the waistband.

Oh yeah, this was definitely his big bad doggy.

"Yo," Blaine said softly, so as not to wake their children into a screaming fit and Cerberus pulled his head up lazily, "We're gonna be late if we don't hurry this up." Cerberus sighed.

"Yeah, ight. Gimme a hand with Thing One and Two." He said. Blaine smiled at his nickname for them and came over to take Keros into his arm, knowing he could probably handle this little guy's squirming as opposed to Holly's. Blaine had Cerberus follow him as they made their way downstairs to the foyer, where their oldest son, Ayo, was waiting with his date, King.

Blaine couldn't suppress a smile of pride as he came upon Ayo in the foyer. Ayo was incredibly handsome with his long black hair pulled back from his face with the rest in a low ponytail over the rest of his hair, his blue eyes underlined in black eyeliner. He wore a black sweater with a loose green and white scarf, and black jeans.

And King made quite a sight beside him, Blaine noted. King was by far taller than Ayo, but still shorter than Cerberus. He was normally decked out like a Gothic pirate stalking the streets at night, prowling for customers to fund his street gang. Now, King's silky black hair was brushed off to one side, the other side of his head shaved, gold earrings hanging from his ears, a black/red/white striped sweater under a long wool black coat, and matching jeans and skull buckled boots.

"Is it even a good idea that I go," King said dryly, "Last I checked, Hades was about as fond of me as he is of anal probing." Ayo scowled, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Don't be so crude. It's gross. And yeah. If I have to suffer through a family dinner, so do you. That's what you get for dating me."

"I feel like this is starting to be a punishment, not a reward." King grumbled. Ayo smirked proudly, then looked at Cerberus, who grimaced.

"I think I'm actually starting to feel sorry for the prick." Cerberus admitted, looking at King with a pitying stare. Blaine scoffed.

"Let's keep the shit talking to a minimum. So get it all out while you can." He said. Ayo and Cerberus shouted obscenities at once, making King and Blaine roll their eyes before they headed out.

☆彡 ★彡 ☆彡 ★彡

"Are you almost ready?" Alexion asked, standing outside the bedroom and looking in at Charon, who seemed to be debating between wearing his typical long black cloak or not. Alexion couldn't hide a smirk of amusement. There was no need for his lover to hide anymore.

Since the war, Charon's brothers had become rather polite as opposed to how they were before, when it came to their eldest brother. And Charon himself had become far more confident. Meeting his mother, Nyx, and his father, Erebus, for the first time since they abandoned him in this hellhole had been a sort of closure for Charon. Alexion was proud of Charon for handling the situation with his parents so well. Charon had grown up considerably in just a matter of a few years.

He looked positively adorable standing there in a black v-neck sweater over a white t-shirt, and wearing a loose scarf, jeans, and a black slip-beanie. He kept grabbing up his cloak, then putting it back down and walking away.

"Yup," Charon decided, then paused and twiddled his fingers a little nervously, "Or not. Maybe I should wear it. Maybe I should just wear what I usually wear." He started to turn back, but Alexion caught him by the hand and pulled Charon up against him, making him gasp quietly. Alexion put his arms around Charon's waist to prevent him from pulling away as he smiled into Charon's face.

"You're fine, Charon. You look beautiful." He assured. Charon sighed, then smiled up at him.

"I swear I don't know what I'd do without you." He said, rising on his toes to place a soft kiss against Alexion's lips. Alexion smiled, kissing him back. He honestly wondered the same thing. Without Charon, he'd probably still be a bitter shell of his old self. Only Charon had taken his hand and given him a chance, shown him what it truly felt like to be loved and cherished, to be needed.

Alexion lifted his hands up to cup Charon's face, drawing him in for deep kiss. Charon moaned softly, sliding his hands up to massage Alexion's muscles through his tight brown knit sweater. Alexion started to move him back toward the bed, but Charon stopped him with a gentle smack to the chest.

"Hey. Weren't you the one getting all impatient about heading over there?" Charon asked with an arched brow. Alexion actually pouted and it made Charon laugh.

"Let's see, dinner party with people who irritate me, or a night in with my beautiful lover? I dunno, Charon." He mused. Charon smiled, then kissed Alexion's chin, making him groan.

"After. After dinner, we can come back here and do whatever you want." He promised. Alexion's eyes glinted mischievously.

"Oh, don't tempt me, love." He replied. Charon laughed again and hugged him quickly before stepping back, taking his lover's hand, and teleporting themselves away.

☆彡 ★彡 ☆彡 ★彡

"I don't think this is a good idea." Demetrius said, standing nearby uncomfortably. He didn't know why he let Nikias pick out his clothing. It'd become a habit since the first day of their relationship. What Nikias wanted, he did without even thinking because-- honestly? Anything to put a smile on his face made Demetrius deliriously happy.

At least, until it came to parties.

Demetrius wasn't a social person by nature. After centuries of having to deal with stupidity and struggling with his own insecurities, parties were so far out of his comfort zone, they weren't even on the same planet. And now, he loathed the very idea of going to a party. And not just any party, but a party with his two least favorite families-- Hades and Lucifer. It wasn't that he hated either of them. It was just that he knew exactly what their children were like and what kind of untold horror could ensue. In fact, he wouldn't doubt if Hades's palace was burnt to ash by the end of the night.

Hm, now that would be a sight to see...

"Oh, don't worry about it," Nikias said as he tied his tie loosely from his button up white shirt collar, "It could be worse." Demetrius highly doubted that, but he suppose he could give it a shot. Besides, what could be the worst that could happen? Death? It sounded like a relief when it came to a dinner with those two gene pools. He didn't say that out loud, of course. He'd rather die than hurt Nikias's feelings, and he knew how close Nikias was to his family.

"Is everyone going to be there?" Demetrius asked again. He didn't want to cancel on the party, but it made him sick to his stomach to be around so many people, people who were going to be watching him like a hawk, waiting for him to screw up. And even worse, Hades will be there with his creepy mind-reading abilities, probably trying to figure out where Demetrius's happy place was so he could destroy it or humiliate him over it.

The god may have given him a brand new arm that gleamed under the lights like a lethal weapon, but that didn't mean the god liked him. In fact, Demetrius was positive that the god didn't like anyone who wasn't directly related to him. And even then, Hades was very cautious about who he called family and who he called his eternal enemy.

Nikias paused, looking past his reflection in the full length mirror in their bedroom to the hot piece of man that stood behind him. He bit his lip, suppressing a smile.

Demetrius was drop-dead gorgeous. His dark curls, ever a bitch to tame, but oh so lovely to pull on and run his fingers through, fell haphazardly about his beautifully masculine face, with his favorite pair of plump lips, and strong nose. He'd managed to get his beautiful demigod into a pair of tight black jeans that hugged long muscular legs, and a snug v-neck sweater that only emphasized his abs further. It took everything Nikias had not to strip him and push him down on the bed.

Although, it helped to calm him to see the anxiety brewing on that handsome face.

Nikias smiled and turned to Demetrius, who seemed to be lost in thought as he stared at the floor. He approached Demetrius, getting his attention by taking his face in his hands and laying a soft kiss on Demetrius's lips.

"Baby, you'll be okay. I promise," Nikias said gently, stroking Demetrius's cheeks with his thumbs, "Now, let's head out so I can show you off to my family." Demetrius smiled back hopefully, closing his eyes and savoring the soft feel of Nikias's hands on his face.

"Okay." He whispered.

☆彡 ★彡 ☆彡 ★彡

"It's a trap." Thorn declared, pacing the office and tugging uncomfortably at the turtleneck Ambrosius had forced him into. He twisted Remi's ring on his finger warily, studying the floor and trying to come up with a logical explanation as to why in the gods' name Hades would host a Christmas party at his palace. It just wasn't normal.

"Oh, don't be a baby," Ambrosius chided him, rolling up the sleeves of his button up shirt to his elbows, then paused to tilt his head and watch his boyfriend pace the room, "Stop that. You're gonna give Remi motion sickness, if not burrow a hole in the floor with all that walking around." Still, he didn't mind the sight. Something about watching Thorn's long muscular legs moving around, and that ass cupped by tight black jeans made him so hard, that his own jean zipper was biting into him uncomfortably.

"I'm not," Thorn insisted, pausing to look down at Remi's ring, which burned in agreement with Ambrosius's comment, and Thorn sighed in frustration, "There's no way this is just him wanting to visit with family."

Ambrosius raised an eyebrow, pursed his lips, folded his arms over his chest, and tapped his foot skeptically.

"Okay," Thorn relented, but only a bit as he continued, "Okay, maybe he doesn't mind sharing dinner with you and your brothers, but me? Your dad loves me like chlamydia." Ambrosius wrinkled in his nose in disgust at the crude comparison before he shook his head and walked over to link his arm with Thorn's roughly, then popped him one on the butt that made Thorn scowl at him.

"Don't be like that," Ambrosius scolded lightly, reaching up to brush dark hair back from Thorn's face, "Besides, he won't hurt you too bad. Lucifer's going to be there too, remember? If my dad gives you a scary look, you can hide behind him." Thorn straightened at that.

"I don't need to hide behind him."

"Is that why you look like a Chihuahua ready to piss itself?" Ambrosius teased with a grin. Thorn rolled his eyes, but couldn't resist smiling. He knew Ambrosius was right. Hades wouldn't really try to kill him, but he wouldn't put it past the god to pull mind-reading bullshit that could put him in the dog house for a few months with Ambrosius. Not that he'd done anything to deserve such treatment, but Hades would probably find his vivid fantasizes of taking Ambrosius in enough positions to put the Kama Sutra to shame... well, less than approving.

But he trusted Ambrosius, and he trusted his father. He also respected his father and his relationship with Hades. He had been concerned at first, but after seeing Hades and Lucifer in the same room together, he realized no one had ever made Lucifer smile and laugh as much as Hades did. Even during Hades's darkest moments, Lucifer seemed to be the only one there to hold his hand.

He sighed heavily, leaning down to brush black hair from Ambrosius's forehead, where he placed a firm kiss before meeting the brilliant blue eyes of his precious soulmate.

"All right. Let's do this. Hopefully someone spiked the eggnog." Thorn added with a snort, and Ambrosius laughed, giving him a playful elbow in the side.

☆彡 ★彡 ☆彡 ★彡

To say Devereaux was nervous was an understatement. There was a reason he wasn't fond of big parties like this. It wasn't so much the fact that he was antisocial. Far from. He was a social butterfly and he loved people. Unfortunately, most of the people loved him too. Maybe a little too much. Actually, maybe love was a bit of a stretch. It was more like, his mere presence gave everyone in the room a major hard-on and they all glared at him like it was his fault.

He really didn't want to go to the party. He'd rather stay at home and watch action movies with Raven all night, but Raven insisted they attend. According to Raven, he needed his partner in crime if he was going to step another foot in the realm of Hades.

His stomach knotted at the thought of forcing Raven to once again step foot in that god forsaken realm. The realm itself wasn't shitty, so much as the horrible dark nightmares that had taken place there once upon a time. It made Dev's stomach twist into a knot as he finished buttoning up his shirt, doing the cuff links, and adjusting the collar. He took a deep breath, looking at himself in the mirror of his bathroom as he did his dark hair into a short loose ponytail, his bangs swept to one side. He made his way out of the bathroom and into the bedroom to check on Raven.

He pulled up short to see Raven standing in front of their dresser. The sight of him stole his breath away. A handsome and beautiful angel if Dev had ever seen one. Raven truly was the most angelic creature he'd ever met, and he'd met quite a few angels, of which he'd grown to quickly dislike. All except Raven.

Tall with rippling muscles from countless hours of working out, a narrow waist, a full head of black curls, and a face so pristine and elegant, the true face of royalty, Raven wore a black turtleneck, matching leather pants, boots, and gloves. He gave his gloves one last tug to secure them before he paused, sensing eyes on him.

He turned, relaxing when he realized it was just Dev, who flashed him a charming smile as he entered the room.

"Hey, baby, ready to head out?" He asked. Raven didn't answer right away, and the way his eyes darted away made Dev's stomach clench in concern.

"You know," He said softly, approaching Raven to take his elbows, making Raven peer up at him nervously through his hair, "We don't have to go if you don't want to. I know this is hard for you..." His voice trailed when Raven gave his head a slow shake, his hands twiddling nervously.

"No," Raven answered quietly, then took a deep breath and shook his head again, looking up to meet Dev's eyes more directly, "No, I need to do this. I can't spend the rest of my life in fear of the past. If I did, I'd never have made the decision to go out with you. I have to grow up sometime." Dev stared at Raven, amazed at how far his lover had come in such a short period of time.

Raven had been working so hard since he'd killed Julius the second time, during the war against the Titans. He'd been getting up early, going out with a daily routine in mind to keep him busy, spending nights with Dev at his apartment, the two of them having even discussed the idea of moving in together after Terry graduated high school. The fact that Raven had been the one to suggest it, and now Raven's big step forward back into the realm that had caused him so much grief... Well, Dev had never seen someone so strong.

Pride swelled inside him as Raven seemed to calm down about the situation, and even gave him a friendly smile.

"Besides, I could really go for a bit of wine." He replied. Dev smiled.

"Then let's head out." He said. Raven gave him a nod, and took his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. Dev squeezed back before left to fetch Terry to join them. Raven watched Dev go, took another deep breath, and glanced at the dark window that reflected his face back at him. He looked away quickly.

You can do this, Raven. Your family is counting on you to be there.

He just hoped he could get past the front door without a meltdown.

☆彡 ★彡 ☆彡 ★彡

"No, I'm not wearing those."

"Yes, you are."

"I am not! There's no way I would be caught dead at a family party in those!"

"No one's gonna see them."

"Then I don't need to wear them."

"I'll see them-- after the party."

"Ugh!" Alaric threw his hands in the arm before folding his arms over his chest, glaring at Stanton, who reclined like a pampered lion on his canopy bed, twirling a pair of green and red lacy panties with a green ribbon that tied into a bow at the back. Without any shame, the Horseman of Death yawned before drawing the panties close to inhale the brand new scent of them and Alaric blushed, moving to stand near the bedpost, peering around it at Stanton, who flashed him a wicked grin as he pulled the panties between his fingers.

"Come on," Stanton crooned, "They're really soft. And they smell nice. Like peppermint." Alaric blushed the roots of his hair.

It wasn't that he wasn't used to wearing panties. In fact, he'd practically switched out his entire underwear drawer. Lacy panties were his favorite garment, but to a family function? What if he bent over and someone saw that ridiculous green bow on the back? Or worse, what if Hades could read his mind and find out? He didn't care what Lucifer told him about Hades's mind-reading restrictions to only those he cared about. He didn't think Hades cared that much about him. Surely the god could pick up on it, or worse, the god would know without even having to read his mind and would mock him relentlessly for it.

"What if someone sees them?" Alaric whined. Stanton grinned.

"Then I guess we'll have to go change out of them. In a secluded room." He added. Alaric made an angry noise of dismay and whacked Stanton with a pillow, which Stanton waved off dismissively before rolling onto his back and holding the panties up toward him.

"Please? Think of it as a Christmas present for me." Stanton added, then did the most amazing thing of all. He pouted. Alaric groaned.

"I hate it when you do that to me."

"Pretty please?"

"Stop pouting."

"Will you wear the panties?"

"Fine!" Alaric huffed, then reached out and snatched the panties from Stanton's grasp, stepping back to hold them up, biting his bottom lip. He glanced past them at Stanton, who had flipped himself up into a sitting position, his legs folded and his hands clasped, leaning forward intently. He rolled his eyes at Stanton's attentive position before sighing. He moved from behind the bedpost, standing in all his nude glory in front of Stanton, who quirked the corner of his lips up in a wicked smirk that sent chills over Alaric's body.

Alaric swallowed at the hot stare Stanton raked over his body before he lifted one leg and slid it into the panties, then the other. He moved slowly, methodically before he slid the panties up and let them snap against his hips.

Stanton hissed through clenched teeth, reaching out and yanking Alaric to him around the waist so he could nuzzle him.

"God, you are the hottest piece of ass in this universe." He growled. Alaric smiled, reaching down to hug Stanton to him before ruffling his hair and giving him a kiss on the head.

"Yeah, well, now in return, you have to come to this party and behave."

"I'll try, baby, but I can't promise anything."

"Ugh."

☆彡 ★彡 ☆彡 ★彡

Akin was more than excited for a Christmas party with his new-found family and friends. Even more so, nothing made him more giddy than dressing Hannibal up for a party. He was also rather nervous. Normally, he jumped on any chance of dressing Hannibal up and showing him off to everyone, but this party in particular gave him the heebie-jeebies.

While he was more than excited to spend the holidays with his family, to catch up with Abel, and finally get to speak to Alaric again since he'd been gone in the mortal realm with Stanton, he was still nervous about bringing Hannibal anywhere near Hades, and specifically Cain. He'd expressed his concern to Lucifer and Lucifer had assured him that Hannibal would be safe. He'd spoken to Hades ahead of time and managed to convince him for a night of truce.

Still, just because Lucifer said it was okay and just because Hades was momentarily calm about it, he wasn't so sure about Cain. Cain didn't play by anyone's rules, but his own. Cain would have no problem slicing Hannibal to pieces, or rather, trying to. Everyone knew that in a fair fight, Hannibal would reign supreme. As a hybrid god with the blood of two of the most powerful pantheons to exist, Hannibal would probably even take down Zeus if he really wanted to, but he didn't. Hell, he'd even given control of his powers over to Akin.

It had been the ultimate symbol of trust that Akin took very seriously.

Akin took a deep breath and finished tying his hair up with the red and white striped scrunchie, straightened his black and red Christmas sweater and pulled on a pair of black jeans. He went to the bedroom where Hannibal was fast asleep from their day of play. He paused to smile impishly at the red marks on Hannibal's wrists from his pink restraints. He hadn't meant to leave marks in such a visible place. He knew Abel was going to tease him, but he couldn't resist.

Everyone saw Hannibal as a beast.

Akin saw an overgrown kitten. Especially now with Hannibal sprawled on the bed with an arm drawn to his chest, his long black hair falling over his shoulder, tousled from their play. Little red marks also appeared in the corners of his mouth from his leather bite. The white sheets seemed to make his warm olive skin appear even darker.

Gods, he was delicious.

Akin bit his bottom lip and moved over to the bed, slowly sitting on the edge. The moment he sat on the bed and it dipped with his weight, Hannibal's blue eyes flickered open drowsily and peered up at him through his hair. Akin smiled.

"Hey, sweetie. It's time to get up. Think you can move?" He asked. Hannibal blinked a few more times, then shifted on the bed, pulling himself up onto his hands before he inched over and dropped himself down in Akin's lap. He wrapped his arms around Akin's waist and nuzzled his stomach, pausing to inhale the deep warm sweet scent of him.

"Oh," Akin gushed, stroking Hannibal's hair, "I know, baby. We'll rest when we get back, all right? Besides, I wanna dress you up. If you hurry up and get ready, I promise to make it worth your while when you get back." Hannibal only hesitated a second before he reluctantly got up and stumbled to the shower to rinse off.

Akin resisted the urge to giggle before he stood up and went to the wardrobe to grab out an outfit. He pulled down a long black sweater with white swirls, a black jacket with a standing collar that buttoned closed to the left, tight leather pants, and a pair of boots with skulls wearing Santa hats as the buckles going up the sides. He picked out a special leather red collar with little bells on the side. He clipped Hannibal's dog tags to them before he laid the clothes out for Hannibal when he got out.

He went downstairs to give Lucifer a call that he was heading over. After a short conversation that had Hades ranting and raving in the background, Akin hung up and went upstairs to see Hannibal buttoning his jacket closed before turning to look at him. Akin beamed, moving over to him.

"You look super sexy, baby." He moaned, reaching up to pull Hannibal down by the front of his jacket to give him a warm, hungry kiss. Hannibal kissed him back, breathing a sigh of relief that he'd woken up to Akin and not another nightmare.

Although, he questioned it with this party. He didn't like the idea at all, but this wasn't for him. It was for Akin. It was Akin's family and he would do his best to respect his wishes and Akin's wish for him to join the party. His first suggestion had been for Akin to leave him home. After all, he spent all his time with Hannibal and not enough with his family, so it was only fair that his family got him on Christmas. However, Akin had been adamant that he spend the holidays with both. So he respected Akin's wish to attend the party with him.

He just hoped no one tried to slit his throat at this party...

☆彡 ★彡 ☆彡 ★彡

"We should've made everyone bring presents." Hades said taking a deep gulp of wine as he leaned against the wall of his throne room. His eyes followed his sons as they drifted around the room, speaking to each other and each of Lucifer's children as well. Lucifer just chuckled at Hades's comment before glancing at him out the corner of his eye.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I got you a present."

"The peppermint lube doesn't count."

"Not that," Lucifer said, blushing faintly and making Hades smirk, "I was referring to something else. But we'll talk about it later. Right now, stop being a wallflower and hiding behind me. Go speak to your children. I'm going to speak to my own. It's rare I get to spend so much time with them." Giving Hades a quick kiss on the cheek, he left his side and drifted over to where Jaques stood with his wife.

Hades watched them with an arched brow.

Jaques was the eldest of Lucifer's children. He was about as tall as Lucifer with dark wavy hair that he currently had slicked back from his face, a well trimmed goatee, and and dark eyes lined in heavy lashes. He wore a black blazer over a turtleneck and matching jeans. His arm was around the waist of a petite stout woman wearing a black pleated dress with a red sash around the waist, her dark hair done in a curly updo, green eyes warm and inviting as she greeted Lucifer with a friendly smile.

Their children were running around their legs, laughing and chasing each other while the eldest of them just watched the room nervously at the amount of people who'd come.

Hades could sympathize with them. He hadn't expected everyone to come. In fact, he hadn't expected any of them to show up.

"You look surprised." A voice said. Hades turned to see Abel approaching him with a smile, holding a glass of wine and carrying a small blue plate with little fingerfoods. Hades pushed off the wall, hooking his thumb in the belt loop of his jeans.

"Yeah," He mused, then paused at Abel's quick glance at the door before he cocked his head, "I haven't seen Cain yet, though." Abel tensed for a second. Hades knew he'd struck a nerve, but he didn't back down. Abel had signed up for his relationship with Cain. It was a rocky relationship, but at least Cain wasn't homicidal. If anything, he was a docile hamster as opposed to how he used to behave, so Hades had to give Abel some credit. He seemed to be working on Cain slowly.

"He wasn't feeling well." Abel replied briefly. Hades merely nodded, before he caught sight of someone approaching them and he tried his best not to bristle as Akin made his way over with Hannibal right on his heels. He could tell the hybrid god was tense, his guard up, as if he were preparing for someone in the crowd to come out and kill him. Normally, Hades would've pitied someone like him, but considering what the hybrid had done to Abel...

Well, the more Hades thought about it, the angrier he got, so he forced himself to give Hannibal just a slight nod of the head before he watched Akin greet Abel jubilantly.

"Abel!" Akin greeted. Abel gave him a quick man-hug before stepping back, giving Hannibal a warm smile. Hannibal just dropped his eyes to the floor.

"Glad you could make it," Abel said, turning to Akin with a smile, "Looks like most everyone is here." Akin started to nod, then caught himself as he glanced around before giving Abel a sigh.

"Let me guess, Cain chickened out?" He asked. Abel nodded grimly.

"He's just being an idiot. I'm not going to let him ruin my night." He responded. Akin grinned.

"Good on you. Always being the better man, Abel. So, how's your new second-in-command?" He asked, following Abel's nod to where Demetrius stood with Nikias, who was chatting away with Cerberus and Theo about something animatedly, causing his brothers to laugh. Abel beamed.

"He's fantastic. I love him. Hades recommended him to me." He added. Akin raised an eyebrow at Hades as if questioning Demetrius's sanity. Hades snorted.

"Don't give me that look. I'm a god damn it. I won't take the insult to my judge of character."

"Oh, don't be a baby." Akin teased with a grin, making Abel laugh. Hades pretended to be miffed. He really had trouble doing so. Normally, he'd kill someone for teasing him like that, but he honestly didn't feel any hostility toward Akin.

He stuck around, listening to Akin and Abel banter. They were so comfortable with one another. He'd never noticed how well they knew each other before, but then, he had tried hard not to get involved in the lives of his children. Even now, he was very hesitant to appear and only did it when he felt they needed his support and mostly his presence seemed to comfort them. Even Malachi, who he knew held quite a lot of venom towards him considering what he'd supposedly done to Malachi's mother, and Malachi himself. Now that Malachi knew the truth, things had become easier between them.

He looked over at Malachi, who had his arm around Adrian while they conversed with Zelios, Noe, and Sept. They also seemed at ease as they laughed and spoke about their recent vacations. Hades knew full well by now that Adrian visited his mother, the Titan Philotes, at her cottage in Iceland. He didn't hate the kid for it; no. Philotes had proven to be quite a valuable ally, that and he had a feeling she wasn't too much of a threat considering he and her sister were borderline friends.

He drifted away from Akin and Abel and their mindless chatter that had shifted to fashion; a topic he was happy to escape. He moved for one of the tables with food, pausing when he saw someone hiding near one of the corners and turned, arching a brow in surprise to see Cain standing there, looking peeved.

He should've sensed that dreariness from across the room.

"Yo, brat. Abel's pissed at you." Hades said, moving up behind Cain when he'd been distracted with glaring in Abel's direction. Cain stiffened, then turned on Hades with an irritated hiss.

"Don't sneak up on me! Jesus H Christ." He seethed in frustration. Hades rolled his eyes, then pushed a glass of wine into Cain's hand. Cain scowled at it.

"Drink some of that. You're you when you're sober." Hades told him, making an obscure reference to the Snickers commercial. Cain appeared unamused with the comment, but one glance at Abel chatting away happily with Akin was enough to convince him Hades was right. He gulped the entire glass down at once, then wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, glaring back at Akin and Abel.

"I don't understand how he can just stand there." Cain seethed in rage. Hades made a sound of understanding as he realized it wasn't Akin or Abel that he was watching, but rather, Hannibal. And he could tell the hybrid god knew Cain was watching him. Hannibal was restlessly shifting, pretending to be engrossed in the conversation with his master and Abel. Hades felt his mouth twitch.

"Trust me, kid, neither do I." He said under his breath. Cain clenched his teeth, his fists opening and closing at his sides before he folded them over his chest tightly.

"It's disgusting. How can you just stand there and let this happen? Why don't you just blast him into oblivion?" He demanded, turning on Hades, who gave him a droll stare.

"I don't think you get the whole immortal thing. I mean, we're immortal, but he's truly immortal. I bet you if we cut his head off, he'll still speak."

"Only one way to find out."

"Don't tempt me," Hades muttered, then shook his head, "Besides, if we did that, Akin would be upset and if Akin's upset, Abel's upset, if Abel's upset, you're upset, and then it's just a huge chain of really upset people. So let's pretend he's the dog that Akin likes to pretend he is. Maybe we can ignore him easier then." Cain considered it, but he still struggled with the very idea of Hannibal being less than five feet from Abel. It made his blood boil. He wanted to storm over there, grab Hannibal by the throat and rip it open, spilling the red all over the clean floors.

"Well, well, look who decided to show up." Cerberus said, coming over with Theo, who raked Cain with a less than approving glare. Cain glared back at him. In a moment of heated sibling rivalry and sizing each other up, the two of them looked like dogs running into each other on the street. Cerberus swiftly ignored them and looked at Hades.

"You seen Ayo yet? He has Keros and Holly with him." He added. Hades shook his head.

"Last time I saw them, they were taking the twins to the bathroom to get changed. Besides, I'm not your babysitter. Your hubby is." He added. Cerberus rolled his eyes, then clapped Theo on the back, making his younger brother hiss.

"Behave," Cerberus told him, then he ruffled Cain's hair obnoxiously, "I don't want to be picking up Bro-kibbles off the floor." Cain glared.

"Don't dogs lick that kind of stuff off the floor?" He asked. Cerberus smirked and ruffled Cain's hair again, making his brother groan in frustration, batting him away. Cerberus waved before disappearing to find his husband, leaving Hades to watch Cain try and fix his hair while Theo rolled his eyes.

"You look like your usual jerk-self. Calm down." Theo mocked. Cain curled his lip.

"No one asked you, dickwaffle."

"What the hell is that even? Did you pull that out of your ass like your personality?"

"Screw you, Theo."

"No, thanks. I don't do the whole incest thing. Wigs me out."

"Oh, and Egyptian byblows don't?" Cain sneered. Theo's red eyes flashed menacingly and he took a step toward his brother, only for Hades to intervene with a glass of wine he'd conjured up and handed to Theo, who scowled at it, watching as Hades handed another to Cain.

"When in doubt, drink." Hades stated. The two brothers glared before knocking back their drinks. Hades watched them disperse. He wasn't in the mood to see his sons rip each other's throats out. He knew they didn't hate each other. Watching Cain panic over Theo's condition during the Titan war, and having seen Theo jump into a fray to save Cain's life, he knew there was a deep bond somewhere in those insults and constantly antagonizing.

He turned back to the room, watching Cain drift over to Abel, who was more than delighted to see him here. He watched Theo move over to come up behind Sept, covering his eyes before popping up beside him, wrinkling his nose. Sept said something that made Noe laugh, and Theo pout. Sept pulled Theo close, feeding him a piece of cheese. Zelios just gave them a smile, gave Malachi and Adrian a nod, before pulling Noe with him to go greet Jaques and his wife.

His eyes went over to Bali and Wednesday, Lucifer's set of twins. Two beautifully tall brunettes with matching ugly Christmas sweaters that belonged in the darkest pits of Gehenna where the twins made their home tormenting sinners. It was a suitable attire. They had also brought their own dates. And approaching them was Dania and her husband, Alexis.

On the other side of the room, he watched Nikias and Demetrius approach Alaric and Stanton, who'd shown up recently. And Hades spotted a green ribbon poking out from Alaric's jeans that made him want to tease the Hellion for wearing panties to a Christmas party, but he decided to keep it to himself. Better to see the artificial surprised. Charon and Alexion joined the group shortly after, walking hand-in-hand.

He watched Raven and Dev approach them as well, and Dev's laughter confirmed that watching someone else find out about Alaric's hobby was much more entertaining, especially the way Alaric blushed to the tips of his ears while Stanton grinned and cuddled on him. A strange sight to see Death snuggling on someone. But Hades was more impressed by Raven's appearance. He could tell the prince was tense and a bit uneasy, but he still smiled and responded politely. He had to give the prince credit; he had balls to come back here without having a panic attack. Raven had always been strong, and Hades knew that. The prince just kept reminding him every time he saw him.

The gentle ping of metal against glass alerted Hades to where Lucifer stood near the Christmas tree he'd set up in the middle of the room. The chatter in the room had died down and everyone appeared interested in Lucifer's call for attention, even Cerberus and his family had gone quiet when they came in. Aside from his fussing little girl, who insisted on chewing on his finger.

"Thank you for coming tonight," Lucifer announced, glancing around at the faces that watched him expectantly, "It's a pleasure to spend the holidays with family, and this year, an even bigger family. We've been through quite a lot this past year. Actually, probably in general. Time for us has stopped mattering for quite a while. But that's in the past. We've built bright futures for ourselves. And for our families, for our little ones." At his words, Blaine felt a smile slip across his lips as he tightened his arms around his son, who made bubbling sounds until Blaine fed him his bottle. He passed a glance across the room at where Jaques and his wife had managed to corral their children, and Jaques gave him a smile that surprised him and all he could do was manage a smile back.

"It is my hope that the future brings us more happiness, more calm, and more peace. And if not, then at least tonight, as we stand here together as a united force, a family. Happy Holidays." He concluded, holding his wine glass up. Everyone in the room echoed the holiday greeting, and Hades just watched, holding another glass of wine as he watched Lucifer nod and shake hands with those he passed before the archangel approached Hades with a warm smile.

"Merry Christmas, Hades." He said, leaning over to place a kiss on his lover's cheek. Hades paused to roll his eyes up at the ceiling, wondering what sort of twisted sense of humor the Fates had. To have given him an angel for Christmas. What a joke. Still, it managed to give him something of a smile as he drew Lucifer closer to him by the front of his jacket, leaning down to take a sip of Lucifer's glass, watching the angel's blue eyes darken and burn with a hint of sexual appetite.

"Merry Christmas, Yule, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and other ridiculous holiday they make up as an excuse to celebrate." Hades answered. Lucifer smirked, leaned in and kissed Hades gently on the lips, only to have Hades nip at his bottom lip.

"Can I have my present now?" Hades asked, cocking his head. Lucifer's eyes glowed.

"Oh, absolutely, but I'll need to give it to you in a more private room." He added under his breath. Hades smirked.

"Oh goody. I like the sound of this. I know of an empty room, with an empty bed..." He said, moving for the exit. Lucifer moved right at his heels, reaching out to lace his fingers with Hades's as they disappeared out the door, leaving the throne room a buzz with conversation and the twinkling white Christmas tree that sat below a suitable Aurora Borealis ceiling fixture...

☆彡 ★彡 ☆彡 ★彡

"Dorean, can I take the blindfold off now? I'm pretty sure I've banged my knees on everything in the house." Xenon said, staring at the black inside of a blindfold Dorean had insisted on tying over his eyes, preparing a special gift for him for a silly holiday. Xenon had never been big on the holiday season. He'd always seen it as a ploy that businesses used to lure pathetic saps in. It was also a day that was dangerously close to the day his entire pantheon had been wiped off the face of the universe and it was the time of the year when he tended to binge drink the most.

However, since he and Dorean had gotten together, his drinking problem had slowed considerably and his normal bitching about the time of the year came to a halt. Especially when Dorean had insisted on decorating their bungalow with enough Christmas decorations to put Hallmark to shame. Even more interesting, Dorean had been giving him little gifts throughout the month, building up for one big gift on the 24th.

"Not yet, kitty. No more moving." Dorean's voice scolded from somewhere in the kitchen. Xenon cocked his head, drumming his fingers on the table impatiently. He wasn't normally this antsy, but when Dorean wanted to surprise him, he really surprised him, so he had to be on his toes.

"Okay," Dorean whispered after a few minutes, "You can take the blindfold off." Xenon reached up, untwisting the knot and lowering the blindfold, to stare at the kitchen's island counter where several red candles flickered in a soft breeze that billowed the red curtains on their windows. Little chocolates and gingerbread men made a trail leading off the island counter and into the hallway. Xenon looked around for Dorean, but saw no sign of him. He slowly rose up off the bar stool and followed the trail, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

He paused every so often to pluck a piece of candy off the floor, popping it into his mouth and savoring the rich sweet flavor that only Dorean seemed to pinpoint with his homemade chocolates. He followed the trail into their bedroom and sure enough, he was surprised.

Dorean sat on the bed, one leg folded over the other, his small black wings fluttering and his black tail swishing around behind him, his snow white hair sprayed with silver glitter, and his silver eyes hooded as he bit a small fang against his bottom lip seductively. He was completely naked, save for a red ribbon tied around his neck and dangling over his shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, kitty." Dorean purred, slowly moving to the edge of the bed to sit on his knees. Xenon hardened to the point of almost being in pain as he drifted over to the bed to put his arms around Dorean with a smile.

"Merry Christmas, Dorean." He replied, then leaned down, placing a soft kiss against Dorean's lips before he slid his jacket off so he could enjoy his present to its full extent.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ '*:;,．★ ～☆・:.,;*

A/N: Happy Holidays, everyone! I intended to get this up on Christmas Eve, but bah, I took my time and I had presents to open. Two-years-old or twenty-years-old, I will always scream about presents. And I can't be the only one who likes presents, so here is one of my gifts to you, my readers! Thank you so much for your endless support, and enjoying my work! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season! Blessed Be )O(