Need A Hero 2

[NikiasXDemetrius]

Hades knew something was wrong before Nikias even opened his mouth. The moment his youngest son appeared in his throne room, he felt the air of despair and rage flood in with him. It was suffocating and nearly melted the paint right off the walls. It wasn't just that, but the tears that had welled up in Nikias's seafoam green eyes.

"What's up?" Hades asked casually, trying not to show how much it pained him to see his son so broken up. He had an itching sensation it had to do with the bastard demigod. Obviously he'd made a mistake in trusting the asshole. It was only the comfort of knowing he could go kill the demigod after he was finished with Nikias.

"I don't understand what I did," Nikias managed, making Hades frown as he lifted himself off his throne and approached him, "I told him the truth. I was being really nice about it. He even let me... Damn it, I don't understand! What's wrong with me?" Hades tried not to flinch at the anguish behind Nikias's cry. He cocked his head with a frown, folding his arms over his chest instead.

"What're you going on about? Do I need to kill someone? Because I will." He added, the threat in his voice real. Nikias swallowed the lump in his throat, trying not to smile at Hades's protectiveness. He could tell Hades was ready to go storm the city of Elysium for Demetrius and destroy him, but he didn't want that. He knew something else was going on in Demetrius's head. He'd reacted too quickly, and far too harshly. He probably hurt Demetrius as much as Demetrius had hurt him, and surely it was unintentional.

He knew Demetrius wanted him. The demigod had practically begged to be touched. But something in Nikias's words had changed his mind. Something had struck a nerve. But what?

"Dad," Nikias said, making Hades look at him quizzically, "I told Demetrius he was beautiful. I told him I wanted to make him happy and that I didn't want to hurt him. And he suddenly got uncomfortable and nervous and... I thought he was going to puke. I don't understand what I said that made him act like that. I thought I was complimenting him." Hades gave pause at that. He could easily see why those words would have put Demetrius on the defensive.

The first time he'd listened to Lucifer feed him compliments and praises, it'd made him sick too. Mostly because Zeus used those compliments and turned them into something mockery and cruel. It made him sick to his stomach. Even worse, his self-esteem was non-existent. What Lucifer saw was beauty incarnate. What Hades saw was a freak of nature who was too damn tall and bonked his head on doorways, eyes that probably looked like headlights, and an eternal scowl that was going to give him wrinkles some day. He also saw an ugly personality made up of every dark piece of shit in the world.

He'd always gotten so angry that Lucifer would lie to him, calling him beautiful and treating him like he was special. He wasn't used to it. Every time someone had given him a chance to see the sunlight, they'd slammed the door shut in his face. This time, Lucifer kept the door open for him and even let him out into that sunlight.

His anger placated, Hades sighed as he raked a hand through his long black hair.

"Nikias, some people are used to cruelty. And cruelty comes in many forms. Let's just say that Demetrius doesn't want to be lied to." He explained as best he could. Nikias frowned.

"But I wasn't lying. He is beautiful."

"Come on," Hades snorted, "You can do better than that. Nikias, he's not really that impressive anyway. He's a demigod with a deformity. If that isn't pathetic, I don't know what is." Nikias glared at his father.

"Don't talk about him like that," He protested angrily, "I can agree with you on some things, but not this. Demetrius not only saved my life, but he saved your life too. He's one of the strongest people I know. He put up with so much and he's fighting so hard. And for your information, Demetrius is absolutely beautiful. No one's seen him the way I have, and if anyone does, I'll kill them. He's amazing, but amazingly fucking stubborn! I don't care if you don't like him, but I do and that's all that matters." Hades arched a brow. Nikias was dead serious about this. It slightly irked him, because it always irked him when his sons focused on someone like that.

But Nikias had answered the question Hades, and Demetrius, asked.

Did Nikias really give a shit about Demetrius or was he just saying that on the spur of the moment?

Hades smirked.

"Why are you here telling me this? I'm not your creepy love fixation. Get out of here before you make me sick." He added, wrinkling his nose. Nikias scowled for a second, then blushed as he realized Hades's intention.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh," Hades echoed, then shook his head as he turned to head for the nearest exit, "Screw this. This family is full of dysfunction. We should start a contest for it. Whoever can be the most dysfunctional gets an edible fruit arrangement. Anyway, don't do anything you'll regret, be back in time for dinner because we're getting Chinese take-out, and if you need me, I'll be pestering the shit out of my own personal fixation." Before he reached the door, Hades vanished. Nikias smiled faintly at that.

Even though the rest of the universe couldn't see Hades's change, he could. Hades had gone from the dark dreary and angry soul he'd first met, to a father who was willing to give life a shot. It warmed his heart. If someone as hurt and angry as Hades could find love, so could Demetrius.

"And I should probably apologize for being a dick." Nikias murmured under his breath, wincing at the words he'd used to hurt Demetrius. He'd been so hurt himself that he didn't even think of anything, but hurting Demetrius back. He wasn't used to being hurt. He was heavily sheltered by Hades, and his brothers.

He couldn't imagine how hurt Demetrius was...

Demetrius closed the door to his apartment building, heading over to Abel's palace to see if the prince had fired him, and he deserved it. He was in no shape to do any kind of protecting. He couldn't even protect himself, let alone someone else. He was tempted to head back to the mortal realm.

Why? They'll treat you worse.

Demetrius swallowed that lump down in his throat as he made his way down the sidewalk to the palace entrance where the front gates were. A pair of guards were standing outside, chatting animatedly before they spotted him. One of them grimaced and the second one averted his eyes uncomfortably, but they both allowed him entry. Irritation spread through him as one of them held the door open for him as if he couldn't do it himself.

He was tempted to flash his way into the palace, but decided against it. He didn't want to seem helpless, so he took the long winding path up to the entrance of the palace. A palace heavily adorned in white gold and expensive sapphires and diamonds. It glittered and glowed like a gem itself, the only place worthy of Elysium. The path created a circle before the palace, a large fountain spurting nectar at the center of the circle, and exotic plants decorating the rest of the lawn. Demetrius had walked through this place a dozen times in the past few months with Abel, listening to the prince rant and rave, discuss business.

He'd honestly grown rather fond of the older prince. Abel was a good demigod, powerful, intelligent, and always caring. He'd done so much to improve Elysium, and the underworld as a whole. He was the voice of reason, the optimist, the comedic relief, and as his brothers put it, Abel was the glue that held them all together. And he could see why.

He entered the palace's main lobby, a large pentagon shaped room with a large front desk several rows of leather seats, a couple of which were already occupied by people who had appointments, and large closed doors that led to other parts of the palace. He walked past the front desk, by the receptionist who paid him no mind, and went past a pair of double doors to another large room that opened up to hallways and a grand staircase that led up. He took the stairs to the second floor and turned to walk around the indoor balcony on the other side that led to Abel's main office.

Of course, he didn't walk right in when he heard voices on the other side. It sounded like arguing at first, followed by a thump, and Abel protesting.

"Cain, get off! Jesus, I'm sore enough as it is."

"I never said I was going to do anything today. You can top."

"You always say that, but somehow, I'm the one who ends up with a dick in the ass. So excuse me if I don't trust said dick. Now back off. Dick."

"You're a tease. You don't just bend over in front of me like that and not expect me to want something out of it."

"Cain, I dropped a folder. That isn't a secret fuck-me sign. Now shove off. Demetrius is here."

"Ugh!" Came Cain's angry shout. Demetrius debated leaving, but he had a feeling Abel welcomed his interruption, so he took a deep breath and entered the room.

The office was a large, extravagant room with high ceilings, gold moulding, white walls with brocade embedded into it, and dark wood furniture. Abel was sitting on his desk now, holding folder in his lap, one leg folded over the other and his navy hair swept back from a relaxed face. On the other side of the desk, his twin, Cain, stood there looked peeved, arms folded over his chest, and an eternal sneer on what would be a handsome face. If he just smiled once in a while. But Demetrius was convinced the darker twin must have something stuck in his sphincter for eternity considering the guy was always angry and brooding.

"Demetrius," Abel greeted warmly, setting the folder aside and sliding off the desk, "I'm glad you're doing better. You scared the crap out of me." Demetrius gave him a short nod.

"I apologize. It was an overreaction." He responded, making Abel raise an eyebrow skeptically. Cain scoffed.

"Some overreaction," He said snidely, "You tore your own arm off, freak."

"Cain," Abel snapped angrily, "Get out." Cain stuck his nose in the air.

"You can't tell me what to do." He replied. Abel reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, gave Cain one last menacing glare that was met with Cain sticking his tongue out childishly. Demetrius ignored Cain's comment openly, but his recent incident with Nikas left him inwardly vulnerable, causing Cain's comment to hit much harder than it normally would. He didn't need someone like Cain calling him a freak, though. Cain had flown right by Freaksville and barreled right into FuckingPsychoTown.

"I'm really sorry about him," Abel told Demetrius, "He's on his period today. Anyway, what can I help you with today?" Cain glared at Abel pointedly, but gave up on trying to be a pain in the ass and flounced over to Abel's leather swivel chair, plopped into it, and swung his high-heeled boots onto the desk loudly. Abel twitched, but didn't acknowledge him anymore than that as he looked at Demetrius expectantly.

"I came to see my status of employment." Demetrius replied. Abel frowned at that.

"You're still working for me, if that's what you mean." He answered. Demetrius was stunned that Abel hadn't fired him, but it didn't matter. He'd have to put in for resignation now. He was useless.

"I see," Demetrius said slowly, "I'm afraid I'll have to resign from my position, though." Abel blinked, bewildered.

"What? Why? You're quitting? Is it because we barged into your house? I know you like your privacy, but we wanted to make sure you were all right." He added, confused. Demetrius was baffled that Abel would be defending him. Why? It made no sense. He couldn't do his job anymore. Or had Abel purposely ignored the fact that he had no right arm? It made his stomach clench that he'd have to outright tell Abel the truth.

"I am no longer in a position fit to be your protector. It would be best if you found someone more suitable for that position instead. From here on out, I am a liability and you cannot afford to have that." Demetrius explained through clenched teeth. Abel stared at him, too stunned to speak. He couldn't believe Demetrius was quitting because of that. He hadn't hired Demetrius just to be his bodyguard. He'd hired Demetrius to help him do his job, to help him make decisions, and to give him company. He wanted his relationship with Demetrius to be friendship, a strong friendship like the one he'd had with his previous second-in-command.

"What? Demetrius, I don't think you're a liability at all. You're more than just my second-in-command, you're one of my friends." Abel protested. Demetrius felt his stomach clench. The last person he let close to him, spat in his face.

"I'm sorry. Please accept my resignation." He repeated, avoiding eye contact now. Abel felt a sting of pain at Demetrius's insistence. Was it really because the man thought he was useless now? How low was his self-esteem? Meanwhile, Cain watched with narrowed eyes. He could sense Abel's pain as Demetrius gave a very low bow and left the office. Part of him wanted to go after the bastard and flay his skin from his bones, but Abel was upset and needed him more than Demetrius needed to be destroyed.

Besides, even he could sense Demetrius's despair like a bitter winter wind.

Demetrius departed from the palace and went for his apartment, even though he wasn't sure why. Nothing there was really his. He had nothing to pack, to bring with him. But he felt like he needed to go there, just one more time before he left.

His heart heavy like a rock sliding toward his gut, he walked toward his apartment past the rush hour people who were heading for the shopping center in the middle of the city. He was just approaching his apartment building when someone tripped him and he nearly face-planted, but managed to catch himself on a nearby street sign. He turned to glare a trio of the specially privileged in Elysium, the rich folk who honestly had no place in this city.

"Watch where you're going, freak," One of the woman said venomously, her hands planted on her hips before she tossed her golden blonde hair over her shoulder, "I don't get why Prince Abel lets a thing like you walk the streets of Elysium. For your information, Elysium is a place of beauty."

"Of which you are not." Her boyfriend laughed mockingly. Their laughter rang out and Demetrius clenched his teeth. He'd dealt with worse people in other places, so he ignored their mockery and moved to head down the street, only to be tripped again by the same person and this time, there was nothing to catch his balance on, so he smashed into the street and cursed, pushing himself up onto his arm, seething at the blood that oozed from his nose colliding with the pavement.

The laughter continued and Demetrius struggled to push himself up, but the woman knocked his free arm out from under him and he fell again, making them erupt with more laughter.

"Mongrels aren't allowed in Elysium," The woman said snidely, "Go to Tartarus, mongrel."

"I don't even think Tartarus allows mutants," Her boyfriend laughed, "Maybe inbred freaks, though."

Demetrius heaved himself to his feet at last, shoving past the boyfriend and making his way to his apartment building with his teeth clenched and blood oozing over his lips. He was shoved from behind, and he whirled to bash the man over the head, only to have someone off the street step up and grab the man's arm, twisting it behind his back and causing his girlfriend to shriek.

"Get your hands away from him before I rip them off." Nikias snarled at the man before shoving him at his woman. They quickly blushed with realization of who Nikias was, muttering apologizes before they scurried away. Nikias watched them go before turning to Demetrius, who stiffened and quickly turned away from him. Hurt by the dismissal, Nikias hurried to keep up with him.

"Hey, are you all right? He didn't hurt you, did he?" He asked, trying to see Demetrius's face, but the demigod turned his head in the opposite direction as he yanked his apartment door open and nearly whacked Nikias in the process. Nikias scowled as he kept on Demetrius's heels toward the elevator, giving a quick apologetic nod to the receptionist.

"I didn't need your help." Demetrius seethed under his breath. Nikias frowned.

"I know, but giving them the cold shoulder wasn't working. I could've punched him."

"I said I don't need your damn help," Demetrius snarled at Nikias so suddenly that he froze as they stood outside the elevator, "Stop following me! Leave me alone! Besides, what'll it do for your reputation if you're caught in the same building as someone like me?" Nikias winced at Demetrius's choice of words that referred to his own. He swallowed at the lump in his throat as Demetrius turned away from him to angrily push the elevator button.

"Demetrius, please. I'm really sorry for what I said. I was just really upset. I thought you didn't want to do it with someone like me. And I knew saying that to you would hurt you because I wanted you to hurt as much as you hurt me. It was stupid, I know, but I'm not used to communicating with people. I'm still new to all of this."

"That doesn't excuse it." Demetrius replied tightly. Nikias pursed his lips for a moment, stricken by the pain on Demetrius's face. It broke his heart that he'd hurt Demetrius so much.

"I know it doesn't," He said gently, "And I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I want you to know that I really am sorry. I just didn't understand why you were so hurt when I told you that you were beautiful and that I wanted to be careful with you. I thought that was a good thing. And I still mean it. I don't want to hurt you."

"Well, it's too late for that." Demetrius managed. Nikias shut his eyes tightly, fighting the tears that threatened to boil over. He blinked a few times before looking back up at him helplessly.

"Please, Demetrius. Give me another chance. I swear to you that I won't hurt you. If I do, you have permission to hurt me back as much as you want." He promised. Demetrius seethed at that before he whirled to glare at Nikias, who stiffened. Demetrius suddenly looked so tall and threatening, and he knew the demigod was doing it on purpose to make him go away. He'd seen Hades pull the rough and tough act on people before.

"I don't want to hurt you," Demetrius snarled at him, making him wince, "But I will if you don't leave me alone. It won't matter. I'm leaving for California now." Nikias blinked, bewildered.

"What? Isn't that in the mortal realm?"

"Glad you know your geography."

"But, Demetrius, your job—"

"I quit," Demetrius shouted suddenly, "Isn't that obvious? How the fuck am I supposed to do my job like this? I can't even protect myself, let alone another person. I'm useless."

"You are not useless!"

"Shut up," Demetrius managed angrily, "Just stop! I'm so tired of hearing people spew the same garbage. That I'm still capable of doing the same things as everyone else, that I'm normal, that I'm worth something. I'm so tired of it! You're not saying that for my comfort! You're trying to convince yourself that you're a good person by trying to give a monster like me hope! Well, news flash! I'm one of the people in this world that you can't fix!" Without another word, Demetrius whirled away from him as the elevator came down and the doors slid open.

Oh no you don't! Nikias thought angrily, ducking into the elevator after him and shutting the door. Demetrius fumed when Nikias stepped into the elevator with him.

"Get out! I'm done!" He snapped at him. Nikias hit the stop button the elevator when they were halfway up, turning to glare at Demetrius, who hesitated at the anger permeating the air.

"But I'm not! You listen to me," He said angrily, "I'm not doing this to make myself look good! To hell with what the media thinks about me! As long as my family knows what I do, as long as you know I'm being honest, that's all that matters to me! I am being honest when I say you're beautiful! I am being honest when I say you're worth something, when I say you're smart, and strong, and brave, and worth more than a hundred realms put together! You are not a monster! You're hurt and I understand that. I am sorry for what I said. I said it out of spite and I never should have done that. I know that now. And for the record, you hurt me too. I thought you would regret doing it with me. I thought maybe I wasn't doing something right. I thought I hurt you telling you that you were beautiful. I thought maybe I offended you when I... when I did that. I thought you didn't like me."

Demetrius said nothing, remained silent, his back against the wall of the elevator. He wanted to believe Nikias was telling the truth. He really did. He wanted to try for a relationship, a real relationship. He wanted someone to honestly, truly love him, his flaws and all. He wanted to forgive Nikias. He wanted the hurt to go away. He wanted to try again.

I wouldn't want to do it with someone like you anyway.

Pain sliced through him as he leaned against the wall for support. Humiliation burned deep in his stomach and spread through him like wildfire. He was so embarrassed, though. Why should he bother? Even if it didn't bother Nikias, it bothered him. It bothered him that he could be the cause of Nikias's downfall. It bothered him that he wasn't good enough. Nikias deserved someone whole and truly beautiful, truly smart, and truly worthy. Not some byproduct he picked off the pavement.

Nikias watched in agony as Demetrius seemed to recoil into himself.

"Demetrius, please," He pleaded softly, coming forward to try and look into his face, "I am sorry. I am so sorry. What I said was cruel. I said it because I was hurt and I was angry. And I know that's no excuse for it. But please, let me make it up to you. Let me show you how special I know you are, let me show you how much I really love you, please." Demetrius clenched his teeth. Nikias's soft voice was coaxing him closer and closer to the edge. He wanted to cave in so much. He wanted to drop down to his knees and let Nikias do whatever he wanted to him, damn the consequences.

Just do it. Just let him do what he wants and then he'll realize how useless you are. Get it over with.

Nikias looked up at him hopefully, watching Demetrius's gold eyes search the floor as if hoping to find the answers there. Just when he thought Demetrius would never forgive him, his mouth descended upon his and they were kissing.

Nikias blinked, stunned by Demetrius's sudden change in demeanor. He expected to get slapped, or at least insulted, but definitely not kissed. He was a little worried at first, because Demetrius's kiss wasn't timid and sweet like it'd been before, but rather, mechanical and insistent. He broke their kiss, pulling back to look at Demetrius in confusion.

"Does this mean we're going to try again?" He asked, hopefully. Demetrius gave him a dull stare.

"I don't know. Do what you want." He answered. Anger cut Nikias sharply as he stepped back.

"No." He replied. Demetrius tensed, his gold eyes darkening.

"Exactly. No one wants to do it with someone like me." He said coldly, turning away and hitting the button for the elevator to continue on its way up to his room. Nikias glared at him.

"That's not why! I don't want to do it if you don't want to do it. And I don't want you to do it because you think it'll make me go away. I'm not here because I want to have sex. I mean, yeah, that'd be nice, but that's not it. I'm here because I royally fucked up and I'm trying to honestly apologize, but you're making it really hard by making fun of me for it." He said angrily. Demetrius gritted his teeth, giving Nikias a dirty look.

"Then you know how it feels." He snapped. Nikias winced.

"Demetrius, please, I'm trying to apologize."

"It doesn't matter how much you apologize," Demetrius said in exasperation, "It's making it really hard to stay angry with you the more you do it."

"Then don't be angry," Nikias insisted, "Why are you making this so hard? I just want to try again. If I fuck up again, you can hurt me, burn me, kill me if you want. Because, Demetrius, it's getting really hard to be away from you for too long. I want to be there for you. I want to be with you."

"No," Demetrius said, cringing away when Nikias tried to touch him, and it only caused more pain to cut through Nikias's heart, "This isn't just about that, Nikias. It's... I don't want to be the reason you fail. I don't want to be the reason the media mocks you. I know what it's like to have people spit on you and lie and hurt you for the sole reason of getting off on it. You don't deserve that. And the longer you associate yourself with me, the more you'll suffer and you don't deserve that." The elevator doors started to open, but Nikias rushed forward and shut them, locking the elevator down again. Demetrius turned to him, incredulously, but Nikias turned and pinned him to the wall, capturing his lips in a deep, hungry kiss that sent chills through their bodies.

"I don't give a shit who mocks me or spits on me," Nikias breathed against his lips, "Don't put me on a pedestal, Demetrius. I may be a prince, but that's just a stupid title, a category. I'm still a person. I still want the same things you and everyone else wants. I want someone by my side that I can trust and love unconditionally. You could never be the reason I fall, Demetrius. You'd be the reason I can rise up and become something greater." Demetrius felt heat creeping into his face.

He wanted to accuse Nikias of lying, of trying to make up so they could just have sex and get it over with, but there was a burning intensity in Nikias's green eyes that told him how much he truly meant his words. He felt a lump form in his throat. No one said things like this to him before. No one. Even his own father had looked upon him with pity in his eyes, pity that burned him to this very day. He didn't want anyone to treat him like a handicap or like a freak of nature. He wanted to be treated like he was worth something. He wanted someone to show him why he wasn't dead yet, to give him a reason why he hadn't tried to end it all himself all those nights he sat alone in his apartment, staring at the gun in his hand.

"Please, Demetrius. Give me one more chance. Let me love you." Nikias begged. Demetrius squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as he came to a decision, then opened his eyes again to look Nikias dead in the eyes. Nikias felt his breath hitch at the unshed tears in Demetrius's eyes.

"Please don't hurt me again, Nikias. I don't think I could it." He said in a voice so soft, it was barely above a whisper. Nikias smiled gently, reaching up to cup his face in his hands.

"I will never hurt you, Demetrius. I promise. I'll love you the way you deserve to be loved." He swore, then leaned in and kissed him square on the mouth. Demetrius moaned, parting his lips and letting Nikias in, hoping and praying that he wasn't making a mistake.

"We should probably move this to your room to avoid pissing off the tenants." Nikias whispered against his lips. Demetrius just managed a single nod. Somehow, even a single kiss from Nikias left him in a daze. Nikias took his hand and they left the elevator, teleporting to Demetrius's bedroom.

They landed on the bed with Demetrius on his back and Nikias on top of him, their lips locked in a deep passionate kiss. Demetrius moaned again as Nikias worked at his pants, undoing them and sensually sliding them down his legs before casting them aside. He reached behind Nikias and rolled his shirt up over his head, letting it fall to the bed, then tilted his head up to bury his nose against Nikias's hair, inhaling the deep scent of cinnamon and smoke.

Nikias shifted delightfully as he felt Demetrius nuzzle him and kiss the space behind his ear. He reached down to unzip his pants, freeing himself from their confines and taking their cocks together in his hand. Demetrius hissed softly, then began to pant as Nikias pumped their cocks together, stroking them to a painful hardness.

"I'd play with you all night," Nikias murmured, "But I'm going insane if I don't get inside you soon." Demetrius just gave him a nod to indicate it was all right. Nikias smiled and kissed him again before leaning back on his haunches. He waved his hand and summoned a tube of lubricant before lathering his fingers with them. Demetrius just watched him intently, wondering briefly how Nikias even knew to use such a thing, but considering his brothers... Well, now he wasn't so surprised.

At least, not surprised Nikias's expertise. At the discomfort of having Nikias's fingers inside him, that was a little mindboggling. Demetrius bit into his bottom lip, groaning low in his throat as Nikias moved his fingers around inside him. Nikias leaned over him, massaging a thumb around Demetrius's nipple as he watched Demetrius breath heavily.

"Is this okay?" Nikias asked softly. Demetrius nodded, then sucked in a sharp breath and gasped when Nikias's fingers brushed against the sensitive spot inside him. Nikias cocked his head.

"Are you all right?"

"Do that again. Please." Demetrius breathed, blushing hard. Nikias smiled at that and obeyed. Demetrius jerked again, moaning low in his throat. He pushed down on Nikias's fingers, arching his back and gasping out loud. Nikias fingered the spot further and Demetrius writhed, gripping the sheets with his fist.

"Nikias, this isn't enough." He managed at last. Nikias nodded in understanding, withdrawing his fingers and replacing them with something much larger. Demetrius hissed through his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut as his muscles stretched wide over Nikias plunging deep inside him. Nikias nearly spasmed and came right then and there, watching as he pushed himself inside Demetrius, who made soft mewling sounds. Nikias bit his lip, gripping Demetrius under his legs, pushing himself in up to the hilt.

"Is that okay?" Nikias asked breathlessly. Demetrius nodded, shifting just a bit before groaning.

"Yeah. You can move." He replied. Nikias nodded and obeyed, drawing his hips back before snapping them forward. Demetrius gasped and shut his eyes, moving his grip from the sheets to clench in a fist against Nikias's back. Nikias panted, thrusting his hips, watching Demetrius writhe on the sheets below him.

He'd never seen anything more beautiful than Demetrius laying there below him, warm olive skin coated in a sheen of sweat. His dark curls stuck to the sides of his face, and one curl in particular fell down beside his beautifully Greek nose, his gold eyes glazed over with lust. It was a beautiful sight and it drove Nikias to the brink. He wanted to explode, fill Demetrius until it bubbled around his cock and soaked the sheets. He wanted to wreck Demetrius so hard that he couldn't walk for weeks.

"You're so unbelievably sexy," Nikias breathed, "You really are, Demetrius. I have to be the luckiest person in the world to have someone like you." Demetrius managed a low whimper in response, arching his back before he came long and hard. Nikias moaned as Demetrius's muscles clenched around him, squeezing him until he struck his own orgasm. He rocked his hips against Demetrius for what felt like eternity before he melted down from his climax and into a calming peace.

He propped himself up over Demetrius on trembling arms, watching Demetrius lay there, panting softly, still glowing and appearing a bit dazed. He smiled, reaching out to tuck the lock of hair stuck to his nose, to the space behind his ear. Then he leaned down and kissed Demetrius gently on the cheek.

"I love you, Demetrius." He murmured. Demetrius swallowed hard at words he had long given up on ever hearing directed at him. Never could he possibly be so lucky. And yet, here he was. With the one person who loved him, and proved it enough to even come and beg his forgiveness. His forgiveness.

Someone who wanted him.

"I love you also... Nikias." The words felt foreign on his tongue, but nothing filled him with more joy than seeing Nikias's face light up. Nikias leaned down and kissed him a few more times before Demetrius felt something hard rubbing against his leg and glanced down to see Nikias had sprung back.

"How can you still want to move?" Demetrius asked breathlessly, eyeing the cock that oozed against him as he managed to roll onto his stomach. Nikias nuzzled his ear as he rubbed himself between Demetrius's cheeks in askance.

"Baby, I could do this all night long. Pretty please?" He asked innocently. Demetrius sighed and arched his back against Nikias, who hissed in pleasure, then nipped at Demetrius's ear.

"That's fine." Demetrius whispered, closing his eyes and pressing his face against the pillow with a faint smile.

Besides, it's not as if he'd have to work the next day.

"I've decided that I'm not letting you quit." Abel informed the next day, making Demetrius look at him, perplexed. He and Nikias had finally stopped their all night romp after Demetrius had passed out from too much play, only for him to wake up once again to a knock on his door. Struggling against the throbbing in his nether regions, and wiping his face clean of anything Nikias might have left behind, he scrambled into a pair of sweatpants and met Abel at his front door.

"I don't see how I can be of any use now." Demetrius replied with a frown. Abel smiled.

"Demetrius, I didn't hire you because you were useful," He said, making Demetrius cock his head in confusion, "You're not a pair of pants I bought on sale at the GAP. I hired you because your job as a second-in-command is to help me do my job, to be my best friend, and to tell when I'm being an idiot. Besides, I have something for you. Or rather, Hades does. But you need to go to his palace to get it. Take Nikias with you. He'll know what to do." Demetrius wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he merely thanked Abel before he went to wake Nikias up.

He paused in the bedroom, though, to see Nikias sprawled out on his stomach, sleeping with a light snore and the blankets tangled around his legs. A faint smile grazed Demetrius's lips before he went over to the bed and sat down, reaching out to touch Nikias.

"Hey," He whispered, and Nikias grunted in response, "You should wake up. Abel says you should take me to Hades's palace. He said Hades had something he wanted to give me." Nikias peeked an eye open at that, then yawned and rolled over, blinking a few times before he took Demetrius by the arm and pulled him down onto the bed beside him.

"We'll go later," He said, making Demetrius shake his head, "Besides, how can you be up and around after last night? Did I not do a good enough job?" Demetrius rolled his eyes and managed to pry Nikias off him so he could stand, and Nikias smirked at the way Demetrius's muscles twitched and his legs tightened when he stood.

"I stand corrected." Nikias decided. Demetrius blushed.

"I'm going to shower. After that, we're heading to your father's palace." He said. Nikias sighed reluctantly.

"Oh, fine. To kill time, let's both shower. Besides, I wanna see the inside of your shower better. It's huge." He added, getting up. Demetrius just cocked his head before leading the way into the bathroom and the large shower case. He went to a waterproof control system beside the door and adjusted the temperature, speed of the water, and turned the light on inside, causing the glazed marble to practically glow.

Nikias didn't really pay too much to the inside of the shower, however, as he watched Demetrius walk over to the dispensers built into the wall where the soaps came from. He bit his lip at the way Demetrius's muscles rippled in a symphony of erotic movements. Even better when Demetrius had to stoop to rub soap onto his legs. He drifted over, dispensed some soap into his palms and started to rub Demetrius's back.

Demetrius tensed for a second, then relaxed. Normally, he'd be angry that someone would try and wash him. He didn't need help. He'd done it plenty of times on his own, but he knew Nikias wasn't doing this because he thought he was helpless. He was doing it because he wanted to. He could sense the huge difference between hands that were just working to help and hands that were working to make him feel good, hands that adored the feel of him. He leaned back against Nikias as they washed together, rinsed off in the hot water, then went to the bedroom to change.

Nikias conjured a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, watching Demetrius slide on his military uniform. He admired the way the black stitchwork fit snugly over Demetrius's muscles, the way the outfit made his eyes even more gold. When he was finished, he took Demetrius by the hand and teleported themselves to the throne room. Only very few people were privy to the teleportation channel that led into the palace itself, and he was one of them.

In the throne room, Hades was already waiting with his laptop in his lap as he sat sideways on his throne, over the arms of the seat, wearing black leather pants and a sleeveless turtleneck, his hair in a lazy updo as he worked.

"Abel told us to come see you." Nikias said. Hades held up a finger to hold on. Nikias and Demetrius shared looks before turning back to Hades, who typed with a speed that had to be inhuman before he clicked a couple times, then shut his laptop and sent it back to his room.

"Remind me again why I'm the god of the underworld," Hades muttered under his breath, then paused, "Oh second thought, let's not. Anyway, yeah. I have something for your obviously oh so pleased boyfriend." He stood up and gestured for them to follow.

Demetrius grimaced at Hades's indication. So the god already knew about their relationship. That was fast. What had Nikias said when he came back here earlier? Part of him wondered if he even wanted to know. So instead of questioning it, he followed Hades obediently and Nikias walked beside him. They headed down a long winding hallway before they approached a pair of double doors and came inside.

Demetrius pulled up short at the sight of the small room with another pair of double doors that opened up into what appeared to be a surgical room. A cold chill crept over him and Nikias frowned, appearing confused.

"What's this for?" He asked. Hades folded his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, Abel may have hired Demetrius to be his friend, but I certainly didn't. And you can't protect shit without a little back up. So I'm going to prep you for surgery so I can give you a new arm." He explained. Demetrius stiffened.

"Last time I allowed someone to knock me unconscious and give me a prosthetic, they did a very poor job of it." He said. Hades bristled.

"Watch your mouth, demigod. Don't insult me. You got a prosthetic from idiots who didn't even know what the Internet was. I, on the other hand, was the one who made your boyfriend with a little DNA, a little bit of a magic, and a test tube. So if I were you, I'd strip and get ready." He warned. Demetrius did not like the sound of this at all. Not to mention, Hades now had a reason to get rid of him.

He was dating Nikias. And if he knew Hades, which he was positive he did, the god would be thrilled to cut him up into tiny pieces and serve him up at a dive bar.

"It'll be okay," Nikias said suddenly, noticing Demetrius's unease, "He acts like he's mean, but he's really not. It'll be okay. I'll be here for you when you wake up."

"Nikias..." Demetrius didn't say more. He wasn't sure if he could trust Hades. Actually, he was positive he couldn't. The god really had no reason to like him. However, Nikias... Nikias he could trust. Or at least, he hoped so. And while he was sure Nikias would love him arm or no arm, he still wanted to be able to do his job. He still wanted to protect Abel, and Nikias, and even himself. But he couldn't do that with this handicap. As much as he loathed calling it that, he had to face the cold hard fact.

It was a handicap. Because of a dominant gene on his father's side, he'd been born without his right arm. His own mother had kicked him out of her home. His father had died trying to make his life at least a little better. This one thing had ruined his life.

And now it could get better.

He took a deep breath and nodded. Nikias smiled and rose on his toes, kissing Demetrius gently on the lips.

"All right, let's do this." Hades decided. Demetrius tried not to grimace. It wasn't that he questioned Hades's medical abilities. He'd seen this god do wondrous things. However, he'd also seen this god do the cruelest of things as well and he wondered if Nikias was really enough to buffer his temper. Then again, the worst thing that could happen to him should this fail, would be his death and it couldn't be so bad.... hopefully.

Twelve hours later, Nikias sat staring into the procedure room, his stomach twisted in knots. He'd had to leave a couple times during the procedure because he couldn't stand watching his father pick at Demetrius like he was dissecting a frog for a school project.

Hades had worked hard and carefully, connecting everything with science and securing it with magic. It'd taken much longer than Nikias had hoped, and the last couple hours of the procedure was just Hades testing the arm's movements.

The arm was a huge improvement of the old one. The older one was rickety and unstable, bony and just a complete mess. This one was much more high-tech. The wires and tubing were hidden beneath black steel plates that had been smoothed out, steel ball jones that were protected by more steel plating, and smooth steel fingers. It was a stunning piece of technology.

"He should be waking up from the anesthetic soon," Hades said when he came in, taking off his gloves and tossing them in a garbage can nearby, "Everything is connected and stable. The only thing he'll need to do not sleep on it for very long or he could feel little tingles in it when his shoulder falls asleep. Oh, and you know, try not to get it ripped off. That would piss me off. I spent a while working on that and I was actually going to save it for something else, but sue me. I'm a really fucking nice person." Nikias smiled.

"Thank you, dad. You have no idea how much this means to him," He said, turning back to look through the glass at where Demetrius was laying in peaceful slumber, "This whole time, I thought it was just me he didn't like. I didn't really think he could hate himself."

"Well," Hades said, glancing through the glass, his arms folding over his chest, "When you're used to being told you suck, you eventually start to believe it." Nikias looked at him.

"You don't suck."

"Not always." Hades admitted with a shrug. Nikias smiled.

"Never." He replied. Hades appeared uncomfortable with the compliment.

"Jesus Christ, I knew I shouldn't have used any of Lucifer's genes. You're way too nice. Go hang out with Theo. No, better yet, Cain. Go hang out with Cain. He's the little shit with most of my genes." He ranted, making his way out of the room. Nikias watched him go, shaking his head before he entered the procedure room and approached the bed, staring in awe at Demetrius's new arm. It was sleek and modern, absolutely beautiful. Even more exciting was the way the fingers twitched when Demetrius slowly began to wake up.

Demetrius grimaced, looking a bit pale as he looked around the room, his head sore as if he'd had it bashed it. He almost thought he'd wake up in a dumpster, except a bright light flashed over his eyes before Nikias came into his view and he relaxed. A smile slid across Nikias's lips and he sighed in comfort when he felt his hand on his face.

"Hey," Nikias greeted softly, "How're you feeling?"

"Like I had my skull bashed in."

"Must be the anesthetic," Nikias said with a warm smile, "You'll be all right, sweetie." The endearment made Demetrius smile faintly. No one used something so nice to describe him, ever. He reached up to touch Nikias's face, then froze as he saw the prosthetic Hades had given him. He drew his hand back down, baffled as the arm moved exactly the way he wanted it to. He reached the arm back up, his fingertips very gently brushing Nikias's cheek. Nikias reached up to place his hand over the prosthetic and Demetrius's eyes widened.

"It... It's going where I want it to." He said. Nikias laughed quietly.

"Of course it does. What did you think it would do?" He asked. Demetrius decided not to mention that his last arm had been extremely difficult to use. It usually did the opposite of what he wanted and sometimes he'd have to move it with his other arm to get it to do exactly what he wanted. This arm moved the exact moment he thought to move it. Nikias laced his fingers with the metal fingers and Demetrius expected Nikias to get pinched with the metal plates stretching over the metal bones, but he didn't. He waited to see some kind of wire or tubing, but there was nothing on the outside. No exposed wires, no exposed tubes, no sparks flying or groaning or grinding sounds. It moved silently and gently the exact way he wanted it to.

Nikias watched Demetrius's eyes glisten as he moved his hand about, taking the sheets in his new hand, moving it back from him so he could slowly push himself up. He'd never seen Demetrius look so happy. And even more so, he never felt so happy to see Demetrius happy.

"Where's Hades?" Demetrius asked, looking around after he'd finished having a moment to admire the new arm.

"He's shy about thank yous." Nikias replied. Demetrius actually smiled, reaching out to cup Nikias's cheek with his palm.

"Well, do me a favor. Tell him thank you for me."

"Absolutely," Nikias purred, leaning in to give Demetrius a kiss, "And once you're not drowsy from the anesthetic, maybe we can put your new arm to some use, huh?" He kissed the inside of Demetrius's metal palm before resting his cheek against it, giving Demetrius a suggestive smile. Demetrius blushed and merely gave him a nod before he pulled Nikias into his arms and wrapped them around him tightly.

Finally, Demetrius thought in relief, closing his eyes and resting his cheek against Nikias's head.

I can finally hold him in my arms.

A/N: Hehe~ I really enjoyed writing this one. I was excited to write more on Demetrius. He's come a long way in a short period of time, and now he doesn't have to do it alone anymore. Now he gets to join the rest of the poor suckers who call Hades father-in-law. *cue evil laughter from Hades's mancave* ANYWAY. Hope you enjoyed this! Looking forward to more writings with these guys!