Snow White: Part 2

[King]

I woke up to a crash, my eyes flying open and staring directly up at a dark ceiling. A frown worked onto my face and I cocked my head against the pillows. I reached up to rub at my eyes for a moment, then laid my arm out across the bed and it took me a moment to realize that Ayo wasn't laying in the bed next to me.

I sat up slowly and felt around the bed, but it was empty aside from myself. A bad feeling crept through me as I slid off the bed and moved across the room, turning the lights on to reveal that I was alone in the room. I looked around for a moment longer before my eyes widened.

Oh, that little shit.

I threw the door open and sprinted from the room, moving down the stairs and running into the den, only to pull up short when I saw Ayo laying on the floor in front of the fireplace, shattered glass laying around him and the dagger embedded in his shoulder. I cursed and ran over to him, using a pillow to brush the glass away from us before I knelt on it to pick Ayo up into my arms, wrenching the dagger out and tossing it aside. His wound already began to heal in his shoulder, but he wasn't waking up.

If anything, he looked eerily peaceful laying there in my arms, his braids falling over his shoulders and down to the floor, dark lashes against his mocha skin. I clenched my teeth, stroking the braids away from his face, which was set in an expression of peace and serenity.

"You stupid idiot." I snarled down at him, drawing my hand to my mouth and sinking my fangs into it before I drew it to his lips and pressed, smearing the blood there. And I waited, still holding Ayo in my arms, holding my breath as I waited for him to wake up, but he wasn't moving. I cursed and slammed my fist down on the ground beside us, giving Ayo a violent shake.

"Wake up," I hissed at him, "Kid, open your eyes!" He didn't respond. I pressed my fingers to his throat, feeling a pulse, a slow steady pulse. I drew my ear down to his lips, just double-checking and sure enough, his breath was coming out in even patterns, indicating he was asleep.

For eternity.

Shit!

I should've known he was going to do something stupid like this! He'd been acting strange all day, as soon as I mentioned the dagger, he got this glint in his eye like he couldn't resist accepting my offer, and not for the reason I intended. How long had he been planning to do something like this? What was his alternative? A sick feeling swelled in my gut and I gave Ayo another shake, but to no avail.

Even worse, I could hear movement in the house and no doubt, his parents had heard the crash and were coming to investigate. I cursed and set Ayo on the floor, scrambling to grab the dagger and started to get to my feet before I paused, clenching my teeth. I looked down at Ayo on the floor, laying there in utter silence.

He told me to leave if this happened.

But for some reason, my legs wouldn't move. I couldn't bring myself to turn my back on him, not now. His parents wouldn't understand why he did this. Hell, even I was having troubles coming to terms with this. I'd known Ayo for a good while now. He'd gone to school with one of my members, Raine. He was a good kid, but he was fiercely independent and always kept things to himself. It was a miracle he showed any emotion at all.

But I knew very well that he felt out of place, especially in his own home. I'd been a victim of the foster care system since I was an infant. My parents had dumped me into a sewer main and it was only by chance that I'd been found by a construction worker. I'd been to at least five different foster homes before I couldn't take it anymore. No matter what they did, I felt never quite right in their homes. I felt like a stranger. And not all the foster homes had been made up of kind loving parents. I finally took off when I was fifteen and took to the streets of Styx instead.

Now there was somewhere I felt like I belonged. A sewer rat through and through. No wonder why my parents got rid of me.

But Ayo was different. Ayo wasn't a street rat or a common criminal. Ayo was raised well and his parents meant well, but I'd known the moment the announcement of Blaine's pregnancy had been made, Ayo was going to spiral downhill. Even though he didn't admit it out loud, he was definitely feeling more like an outcast as Blaine had his children. It wasn't so much as Ayo was jealous, I don't think, as it was the fact that Ayo was beginning to realize that he wasn't really part of their family. At least, that's how I saw things.

And unfortunately, his parents were going to feel like shit if they found him out here like this. I clenched my teeth and turned back to Ayo. I got down, placed the dagger over his chest, then heaved him up into my arms, cradling his head to my shoulder.

And a second later, I was teleporting us out of the house and into Styx, because if we stayed, his parents would find out and destroy me. Then Ayo would never come back. I know he said his parents could help, but I didn't want to risk having my head lopped off before I had the chance to talk to Ayo again.

So I teleported us back to my home on the opposite side of Styx, a large two story colonial home surrounded by a wrought iron fence. I glanced around to make sure none of the neighbors were out and about, before I quickly went to the door and waved my hand in front of the handle to undo the locks before I crept inside. I locked the door behind me and I turned to face the foyer of my home at the sound of a low menacing growl in the dark.

I frowned and glanced at one of the silver light fixtures, causing light to flood the house in a golden glow, reflecting off clean sleek wooden floors, and making the large L-shaped staircase to the left glitter. Stalking down the hallway toward me from the kitchen was a large black panther, who looked ready to pounce until she realized it was me. Her ears flickered and tail swung back and forth as she trotted over to me, rubbing up against my legs before pausing to sniff at Ayo curiously.

"It's all right, Kiko." I told her. She cocked her head up at me, green eyes glowing before she slunk off to the living room. I followed her inside and laid Ayo out on one of the large beige sofas in front of the fire place. I sat down on an armchair beside the sofa, and put my head in my hands, taking a deep breath.

Shit, shit.

What could I do? The blood thing didn't work. I couldn't leave him like this. I clenched my fists under my chin, studying Ayo as he slept.

"God, you are so stupid," I seethed at him, making Kiko bristle at my side, "You have no idea how good you had it. Do you have any idea what I would have done for parents like yours at your age? Christ..." But that wasn't entirely true. Obviously something was wrong for Ayo to want to go to these kinds of lengths to get away. But I wasn't going to let him run away. Running away never solved anything and he was hurting his parents through this method, and nothing gave him the right to hurt the people who'd given their all to take care of him.

If he'd just talked to them about it...

But it was never that easy. Nothing was ever easy. As Ayo told me once when he'd kneed me in the groin for trying to cop a feel, c'est la vie. That's life. I sighed, rubbing a hand against my forehead, then watched out the corner of my eye as Kiko slunk up between my chair and the sofa Ayo was on, so she could nuzzle her face against Ayo's palm. Ayo sighed in his sleep, but that was it.

I needed to reserve this, and fast, before Cerberus and Blaine figured out where to find me. I was sure that my members and customers would never give away my location, but there was always going to be that one rat that ruined everything. And I had to solve this before that rat gave it away.

Because once his parents found me, I was dead.

I stood up, pacing the living room for a while before I went over and picked up the dagger off Ayo's chest, studying the way it glinted in the fire that crackled in the fireplace. All of this for a piece of shit dagger. It was worth well over several billion, maybe even more. Atlantean weaponry, or Atlantean artifacts were incredibly rare and there were only enough in the world to count on my hands. This would fetch for a good price... which was exactly why I needed to trade this thing for what Ashter had that I needed.

Maybe Ashter could help me out of this. I didn't count on it, because Ashter wasn't exactly known for being the most trustworthy of characters, but he knew more about this thing than I did. Maybe, just maybe, we can figure out how to wake Ayo up.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

"Ashter," I spoke in clear, stern voice, "Get out here. Immediately. I have your stupid dagger." I waited for a long moment, frowning as I looked up at the mirror that hung over the fireplace mantle. Kiko suddenly bristled and got to her feet, her tail whipping around menacingly while she bared rows of sharp teeth. The air thickened, and the fire hissed and sputtered before going still.

And a second later, a dark figure appeared in my living room, causing me to turn to face him.

Ashter stood in the entryway to my living room, dressed in a thick black cloak, his dreadlocks held back from his face with a skull printed scarf, his goatee trimmed to perfection, and dark eerie eyes watching me with amused interest that matched the wicked smirk on his lips. The bastard child of an Egyptian and Sumerian god, Ashter was a trickster through and through and could almost give the god, Loki, a run for his money. But while Loki could have his good moments, Ashter had none. He was wicked and vile to the core of his black tainted soul, and he relished in it.

"Well, looky what we got here," Ashter mused, stepping into the living room to scan it with interest, "Nice place you got here. All that dealin' done you well, kid." His smirk only lasted a moment longer before he spotted Ayo laying on the sofa, a frown working onto his face before his eyes suddenly widened and he hissed like a cat, which in turn caused Kiko to hiss and back away from him.

"Holy shit!" He cursed. I sensed him beginning to teleport, so I sent a flow of ice shooting across the floor to grab his feet and he yelped, trying to yank his feet up to no avail.

"Not so fast," I snapped, making him jerk his head up to glare at me, "I got your dagger. But it hit Ayo and my blood didn't wake him up." Ashter scoffed, still tugging at his legs and bashing his fist into it.

"Of course it didn't wake him up! You're not the one that stabbed him. Whoever stabs him needs to feed him blood." He snarled. I glared at him.

"No one threw it. It was enchanted." I stated. Ashter froze for a moment, staring at the floor and slowly stood up to lock eyes with me, before they swept across the room to Ayo and a low moan started in Ashter's throat as he covered his face with his hands in distress.

"Oh my god, just give me the dagger before we're both killed. Once his parents find out that their kid is a vegetable for eternity, they're gonna fry my ass over it!"

"There has to be a way to reverse it!"

"Not unless you know how to summon the prick who enchanted it, and my best bet is that it was Xenon."

"Xenon," I repeated, "The Atlantean god."

"That you can only summon if you have his coins, which I'm doubting you do." Ashter replied. I stiffened for a split second before I remembered the coins that Ayo had ripped off my cargo. I had been planning to sell those things for a good buck over in Gehenna, but thank the gods I didn't. However, those coins were back at the foundry. I'd planned on giving them to Ayo after he helped me get the dagger. I clenched my teeth, then turned to Kiko, who perked up at the attention.

"Kiko, guard Ayo at all costs," I commanded, then turned to Ashter, who glared at me, "And you, don't move a muscle. Not that you could anyway. I'm not giving you the dagger until I'm positive Ayo will wake up. Because you and I have some unfinished business to attend to." Ashter curled his lip, but said nothing as I quickly teleported from my home to the foundry in one of the back rooms where my merchandise was set up. Hundreds of crates containing illegal merchandise, from ritual bones to voodoo dolls to ancient artifacts that even Hades would drool over. If he ever found this stash, he could easily have authority to kill me, or worse, arrest me. I'd only ever seen one person Hades had let go from his dungeons, and that had been Blaine, who returned home blind and pregnant and suffering untold agony.

And while Hades had righted that wrong, it still scared people into obeying most of the laws. However, there were some of us who were just plain stupid and relied on underground markets to survive.

I hurried past all the crates to a silver jewelry box that sat on top of a shelf in the back. I popped it open and took the coins out, just in case one didn't work. I snapped it shut and teleported back to my place where Kiko was growling at Ashter, who was trying to shoo her back.

"Call off your pussy cat or I'll hang her by her tail!" Ashter hissed at me. I shot him a dirty look, then tsked at Kiko, who purred and came over to nuzzle me. She peered past my legs at Ashter and bared her fangs, making him squeak.

"How do I use this?" I demanded Ashter, taking out one of the coins. Ashter's eyes glinted, like he wanted to get his hands on it.

"I ain't tellin' you shit unless you give me one of those coins." He sneered. I glared at him.

"I only have one."

"Do you think I'm stupid? I know there are more. Give me one and I'll help."

"I don't need your help then," I snapped impatiently, turning away from Ashter, who scoffed, "I can figure it out." I studied the coin, hoping to find some kind of hidden instructions, but there weren't any. I didn't know how to use the coin. The person I'd ripped it off of didn't even know I had it. Most of the coins had been stolen, and one found in an antique shop down in the shopping district of Styx. Ayo obviously knew how to use them, but he wasn't really useful right now.

I glanced back over at the sofa where he still lay peacefully without a care in the world. Part of me felt like shit for ruining his little stunt. He obviously wanted to get away from everything for a while, but this wasn't the way to do it. It was called booze and friends, not getting stabbed with a cursed dagger.

He needed to wake up and deal with his problems like an adult. Time to stop running away. With that in mind, I started to flip the coin up and down thoughtfully, watching it rise and fall when Kiko suddenly hissed and I jumped, causing the coin to fall into the floor, causing it to ripple.

I stared at the floor, stunned as the floor rippled like water, then returned to its solid state. I cocked my head, confused when suddenly the fireplace hissed and Ashter shuddered behind me. Kiko whimpered and curled up around my legs. The air became frigid for a moment and the curtains billowed out, even though the windows were shut.

And suddenly everything went still, eerily still and silent.

And then a column of red and black smoke twirled through the air in front of me and disappeared with a sharp pop to reveal a freakishly tall man standing in my living room. He was taller than me by a couple inches with long black red streaked hair that he currently had swept over his shoulder, and eyes hidden behind a pair of opaque sunglasses. He was decked out in enough Goth clothing to give Cerberus a run for his money. And the stern set line of his mouth indicated he didn't like being summoned.

"What the fuck am I doing here?" He demanded instantly. Wow, not friendly, was he? He stood there for a second longer before he snapped his head to look at Ayo on the sofa. I didn't even see his expression, but I don't think I had to because a second later, I was pinned against one of the walls by my throat and the man's glasses had flipped up onto his head to reveal the whitest pair of eyes I'd ever seen. They weren't foggy or blind. Just his irises were pure white with a black band on the outer edge to separate it from the sclera.

"Who the fuck are you and why is Ayo under a sleeping spell, and seriously, what the fuck are you thinking summoning Ashter to you?" He demanded in my face. Ashter appeared miffed.

"Excuse you, you're not the only demon broker in the realms, you know. I have a business to run here." He insisted. Xenon cut him a glare so deadly that Ashter actually shrank back from it.

"I'll deal with your sorry ass later. In the mean time, that dagger stays with me. The last time you had it, you tried to force a fae to poison his lover. So be gone, foul beast." He snapped his fingers and Ashter vanished. A second later, Xenon had turned his attention back to me, eerie white eyes glowing menacingly.

"Explain." He seethed, then loosened his hold on my throat. I clenched my teeth, meeting his glare.

"It was an accident," I said tightly, "I asked Ayo for help to retrieve the dagger to give to Ashter in exchange for something, but Ayo had his own plans and took the dagger from his parents, but it caught him in the shoulder and now he's cursed and I need you to wake him up!" Xenon cursed under his breath and released me at long last, stepping back to crack his knuckles.

"Gods, you're an idiot," He snapped at me, "That dagger does not belong to you. And you shouldn't be making deals with Ashter of all people. He's a slimy shit who would've never given you what you want anyway. What was so important that you had to risk making a deal with him?"

"None of your damn business," I responded heatedly, "I summoned you to wake Ayo up!" Xenon narrowed his eyes at me, then turned to look at Ayo, then back at me.

"You're lucky I know that kid enough to care about this situation. Once he's awake, I'm going to deal with you." He told me sternly. I said nothing as he walked over to Ayo and sat on the edge of the sofa. I approached, watching him as he tore open the side of his hand and pressed it to Ayo's lips. Kiko came over to sit next to me, nuzzling me to ensure I was all right. I stroked her velvet soft head as I watched Xenon withdraw his hand, and we both waited with baited breath. 

When nothing happened, Xenon stiffened and shot to his feet, turning to glare at me. Kiko growled, but didn't lunge at him. Instead, she ducked behind me and peered out from behind me to glare at Xenon.

"Why isn't he waking up?" He demanded. I sputtered.

"Didn't I mention that that was the whole reason I summoned you?! I don't know why he's not waking up! I tried to do the same thing, but he wouldn't get up!" I protested angrily. Xenon cursed, raking a hand through his hair and taking his sunglasses off to toss them on the nearby coffee table. A second later, Green Day's American Idiot blasted from Xenon's pocket and he cursed under his breath and gave me a finger to told me to hold on. I was too pissed to even speak. Was he fucking kidding me?

He took out a phone and held it to his ear, averting his eyes.

"Hey," He said, his voice surprisingly subdued and calm, "Yes... Yes, I did... Look, I can't talk right now. I'm on a job... Yes, I know. I thought so too. I'm sorry. Yes. Ah... I love you too, I have to go. Be back in a couple hours." He hung up and I arched a brow before the hellfire came back into his eyes instantly.

"What the fuck happened and tell me from the very beginning." He commanded. I sighed, but didn't beat around the bush. If it would help us wake Ayo up, then I'd do anything. So I laid out everything that happened from the moment Ayo stole the coins from me all the way up to the part where I had taken Ayo out of his parents' house to get him somewhere safe. I mean, he was safe there, but I meant safe for both of us because his parents were going to gut me like a fish if they found out this happened on my watch.

"Nice," Xenon deadpanned, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I suppose it was smart to get outta there. Cerberus has a temper, and I'm not talking about screaming and throwing things. I'm talking about the fact that he transforms into a gigantic shitfaced demonic dog mutant with three snake tails and horns. He's the thing humans fear if they sin. Or at least, they should. Anyway, they can't do anything. From what you've told me, nobody can wake him up." I cursed, shooting to my feet.

"What're you talking about? That's why I summoned you!" I protested. Xenon glared up at me, leaning back on the sofa across from me, his arms spread across the back of it and one leg folded over the other like he was the baddest of all asses.

"It's because he doesn't want to wake up. Apparently whatever he's trying to avoid is so strong that not even my blood can wake him up, which is bad. And here's the kicker: We might need to take him back to his parents' house to get them to talk him out of it." He explained. I grimaced. If I went back there, they'd kill me.

"Then you have to take him back for me." I stated. Xenon snorted.

"I don't think that's my job. If I show up there with their pride and joy unconscious, Cerberus will rupture the balance by using my corpse as a chew toy. And if that isn't bad enough, I have an angry imp at home who might actually be scary enough to turn Cerberus into a Chihuahua. No, pal, this isn't my problem, it's your problem. Get Ayo and get back to the house. Explain to his parents what you told me. And hopefully you don't become a taxadermy decoration for their living room." He explained, getting to his feet. I clenched my fists, sending a blast of ice toward him to catch him in his tracks, but he shocked me when he threw a hot blast of flames out, melting the ice and leaving a scorch mark all the way up to my feet, the heat of it so powerful that it blew my hair back from my face.

"Attack me again and you won't have to worry about Cerberus ripping your spinal cord out to play jumprope with." Xenon warned, white eyes glowing threateningly before he snatched his sunglasses up, replaced them, then swung his hand out and the dagger flew off the table and shot into his palm.

"Oh yeah, and this is mine again," He stated, then paused to grimace at it, "Oh joy. A family heirloom. Nothing makes my heart warmer." He vanished in a column of smoke and left me standing there in agony. I turned to Ayo, who continued to sleep in peaceful bliss. I went over to sit beside him, leaning over him and brush one of his braids back from his face, then ran my finger down his cheek before clenching my fist.

"Damn it, Ayo. This isn't the way to do things. You can't run away like this. You're hurting yourself and you're going to hurt your parents more when they see you like this." I muttered. He didn't move, just breathed softly. I brushed my thumb over his bottom lip, then slowly leaned down and touched my lips to his, then pulled back to wait and see if that would make him angry enough to wake up, but it didn't. If anything, he sighed again as if he felt much better.

I rubbed my hand over my face in frustration before looking at Kiko, who slunk over and laid her head on my knee. I stroked her head gently, frowning as she purred gently.

"You have no idea what I would've done at your age for parents like yours," I told Ayo, even though I was unsure whether he heard me or not, "I know it probably sucks that they have more kids now, but come on, Ayo. Have they ever done anything that indicated they didn't give a shit? Because from what I've seen, even an Atlantean god doesn't want to face the wrath of your parents when they find out what you've done. Damn it, Ayo. You have to wake up. If not for yourself, then do it for your parents... And me." Kiko peered up at me curiously and offered her a helpless smile.

I wasn't entirely sure when I started liking Ayo. Something about him was alluring. He was so independent, intelligent, hardworking, and thoughtful. I remembered several times he passed through the ghetto with Blaine when Blaine had been blind. He did everything for Blaine. He made sure people moved aside to make a path for him, made sure people didn't rip him off at the markets. He was the best son anyone could ask for. He trained hard and brutally for the sole purpose of keeping his parents and family safe.

And seeing him fall apart over the fact that his parents had other children was sad. It was like watching someone get put on the back burner. Or at least, that's probably how he felt. I had no doubt in my mind that his parents still gave a shit. Which is why I had taken off before they could see what had happened.

But if they were the only ones that could help Ayo, then I had no choice.

"I'm not going to let you run away from this, Ayo," I told him as I got to my feet, "We're going back." I left Kiko to take care of Ayo while I went upstairs to change into somethng that wasn't Cerberus's, because gods know he'd use that as an excuse to kill me. I tugged a black v-neck on and a pair of black jeans and another long black jacket before I went back downstairs, left Kiko in charge of the house, and swept Ayo up into my arms again as I left my house and teleported to Cerberus's.

It was still dark out, but even through the tinted windows of the mansion, I could see that all the lights were on, indicating everyone was awake and probably not happy.

I walked across the small bridge over the River Acheron and approached the front door, avoiding the unfriendly flowers that waved gently in the wind. I took a deep breath, debated going back home, before I looked back down at Ayo, who seemed surprisingly comfortable in my arms. I started to knock, but the door was already open and Cerberus standing there with a look of hellwrath on his face.

"If you don't fucking put him down in three seconds, I'm going to rip your intestines through your sphincter." Cerberus greeted me with venom in his voice, red eyes glowing and his fangs elongated. I glared at him.

"I'm going to, but Ayo needs your help." I stated. Cerberus curled his lip and said nothing more, stepping aside to let me in. The moment I came in, I was assaulted by the amount of people who'd shown up. Blaine was sitting in the den, curled up with his arms folded tightly over his chest, his expression worried and sick. There was another large man there with green eyes and gold geometric tattoos up and down his dark skin standing beside a petite, but curvy woman. But the person who commanded the most attention in the room was Hades, and I felt my stomach drop at the sight of him leaning against the fireplace where the dagger had once been on display.

Maybe coming here was a bad idea.

Fuck you, Xenon.

"Put Ayo down over here," The petite woman said, coming forward to direct me to one of the sofas, "Get him comfortable."

"I don't know if I want to do that," I said warily, earning glares from half the people here, "If I set him down, who's to say I won't get beheaded?"

"Me," Hades deadpanned, "You're the only one that knows what happened. So spill your guts or I will." I didn't hesitate at that as I gently placed Ayo on the sofa and the woman came forward with a blanket to place across him. The moment I backed up, though, Cerberus grabbed me by the front of my jacket to shove me. He went for me again, but this time, Blaine and the other man in the room darted out in front of him to hold him back.

"Move it! I'm gonna break his jaw!" Cerberus snarled.

"Don't do this, brother," The man warned, "Stand down, Cerberus. Without him, we won't know what to do. Do you want to kill our only chances to saving Ayo or can you sit your canine ass down for two seconds?" Cerberus's eyes flamed, but he seemed to settle down for the most part. The man started to back down, but Blaine didn't move from his position, glaring at Cerberus until he managed to take a few steps back.

As soon as I was clear of Cerberus, Blaine turned and slapped me hard across the face. It was a miracle the little guy could even reach my face considering how short he is. But damn did he have one hell of a slap. My face was on fire and I cursed, stepping back to touch my face and Cerberus made a noise of distress.

"How come you're allowed to hit him and I'm not?" He demanded. Blaine gave him a droll stare, folding his arms over his chest.

"Baby, your bitchslap would've knocked his head off his shoulders. Mine just made a point," He told him and Cerberus scowled in defeat before Blaine turned back to pin me with a menacing glare, "You better tell me what the fuck happened to my baby because it's taking everything I have not to gut you right here, right now on the floor." I clenched my teeth, debating whether to just teleport out of here, but I felt the prickle on my skin that indicated a barrier had gone up. And judging from the charge of it, Hades had done it.

There was no escaping this now.

Damn it, Ayo.

I took a deep breath.

"Look. This started because Ayo took something from me that was very important--"

"Oh, nice," Blaine snapped, "Start off your pathetic excuse by accusing my son of being a thief. Ayo doesn't steal shit." I gave Blaine a long cold hard stare, tired of letting him intimidate me.

"That's why this happened," I said bitterly, making him narrow his eyes at me, "You don't know jack shit about what Ayo does with his free time. I'm telling the truth. Ayo came and stole some coins from me. I caught him and used it as an excuse to get him to help me steal the dagger there for a client of mine. Unfortunately, I had no idea that Ayo had an alterior motive. He came down here while I was asleep, and triggered the enchantment on purpose." No one said anything once I'd finished. They just stared at me for the longest time before Blaine spoke.

"You're lying," Blaine accused me, clenching his fists, "Ayo wouldn't do that! You really expect me to believe someone like you? Who are you anyway? Some drug dealer trying to get in good with my son? How do we even know we can trust you?" I glared at him unwaveringly.

"Because I spend the most time with Ayo. He's always running into me in the city, or I'm always hearing about him doing stupidly dangerous things. It's because he doesn't want to come home."

"Why in god's name would he not want to come home? That doesn't make any sense!"

"Sure it does," Hades spoke up suddenly, making everyone turn to frown at him and he shrugged uncomfortably at the attention, "Don't tell me you don't watch television. Come on. This is textbook. Adopted kid sees his parents have new kids. His assumption? They don't need me anymore. To be honest, though, you're lucky he's asleep for eternity and not actually dead."

"What?" Blaine asked, his voice cracking. Cerberus shot to his feet angrily.

"Ayo knows very well that we give a shit. Christ, we've done everything for that kid. But he's the one that started pulling away first."

"No," Hades drawled, "You just don't want to admit that you've completely pushed him into the background since you got the news about Blaine's pregnancy, and I get that you need to focus on the babies more since they can't take care of themselves, but don't forget you have another kid. See, this is why you should stop after these two. Too many kids, nearly impossible to pay attention to them all."

"You seem to do just fine." I deadpanned. Cerberus scoffed, folding his arms over his chest.

"Barely." He tacked on. Hades snorted.

"Are you seriously jealous that Theo gets more attention than you? I thought we solved that decades ago."

"Never been jealous of the little prick. I just find it weird that you stalk him the most."

"Private reasons." Hades said flatly. I rolled my eyes, then looked at Blaine, who still seemed to be struggling to come to terms with the fact that Ayo wasn't the happy ball of sunshine he thought he was. If anything, Blaine looked sick with guilt. While Cerberus and Hades did an argument about Theo, Blaine crept over and sat on the sofa beside Ayo, reaching out to stroke his cheek, the pain on his face tangible.

"He always said he was fine on his own." Blaine told me when I approached him.

"We always say we're fine on our own, but we really aren't, are we?" I asked. Blaine peered up at me for a moment, studying my face before looking back down at Ayo's face.

"Who are you to him?"

"A friend." I replied briefly. Blaine blinked, then looked back up at me suspiciously for a moment. I wasn't sure what the look was for, but whatever it was, it didn't last long. He went back to focusing on Ayo, stroking his face and taking his hand into his lap. I looked at Cerberus, who'd ceased his argument with Hades so he could watch Blaine and Ayo, his expression one of pain and frustration.

"I don't understand," Cerberus said at last, "If Xenon can't wake him up..." His voice trailed and Blaine winced, bringing Ayo's hand to his cheek and squeezing his eyes shut in pain. I frowned, glancing at him, then Cerberus.

"Xenon told me that Ayo's fighting it. He doesn't want to wake up. You need to give him a reason to." I responded. Cerberus clenched his teeth. I stepped aside to give him room so he could get on the floor by the sofa, looking down at Ayo, who continued to sleep peacefully without a care in the world. I was almost jealous of him, but I also pitied him.

Everyone wanted to run away at some point in their life. Nothing would be easier than throwing in the towel and quitting. But that didn't get us anywhere, except some place colder and darker. Ayo may be sleeping, but what if he was having nightmares? What if his stress followed him into his sleep? Then all of this would have been for naught. No, you never knew what happened after you shut the lights off and fell asleep for eternity, whether a sleeping curse or death. You never knew if what was on the other side was worse than you are now.

And risking it? No. It wasn't worth it.

Life sucked. It was hard. It was rough. There were days that even someone like me wished I could just close my eyes and give up. But I didn't, because life didn't always suck. There were moments that made me happy to be where I was. I had my own little family with the Phoenix Pirates, and I always looked forward to seeing Ayo's face around the city, whether he was sneering at me or laughing with me.

Life sucked. But that didn't mean it would always suck. If someone like me could find a reason to wake up in the morning, so could Ayo.

And watching Blaine break down into tears over him and Cerberus murmuring apologies, I could see that he had plenty left to be awake for. He had parents that adored him and valued every breath he took. And he was now an older brother to not only the twins, but his other brother, Ambrosius. He needed to wake up and be the big brother they needed, to be the son his parents were used to, and to be the fiesty little demon he was with me.

"Come on, Ayo," I murmured, watching Cerberus stroke the hair back from his face, "Wake up." I watched his parents squeeze his hands, kiss his face, urge him to wake up. And for a moment, I swore he wasn't gonna wake up. Even Hades looked skeptical after a while. But as Cerberus moved to place Ayo's hand down on the sofa, Ayo's fingers twitched and Blaine noticed instantly.

"Ayo? Ayo, baby, wake up. Come on, please, wake up. I'll make you your favorite dinner and even let you walk me to the market again, all right? Please." Blaine pleaded helplessly, squeezing Ayo's hand and pressing it to his lips. Ayo's head shifted a little, and his eyelids fluttered open drowsily, eyes searching the ceiling as if he were unsure of where he was. Cerberus breathed a sigh of relief and helped Ayo sit up so Blaine could throw his arms around him tightly.

Ayo appeared dazed for a while there, unsure of Blaine's whimpering sobs and Cerberus's attempts to kiss ass. He blinked a few times, then peered past his parents at me. Those vivid ice blue eyes glowed at me for a moment, and I offered him a quick smile before inching away from the group to leave Ayo to his parents' coddling.

"Gettin' outta here while you still can?" The other man in the room said, catching me in the foyer as I opened the front door. I paused, turning partially around to face him, shrugging lightly.

"I ain't needed here anymore. Besides, I should get outta here before Cerberus remembers some of this is my fault." I pointed out. The man chuckled, approaching me and leaning on the wall by the doorframe, his arms folded over his chest.

"Yeah, that'd be best, King," He said, making me smirk as he gave me a knowing look about my name, "Name's Leon. That kid over there is my godson. Next time he decides to get his nose into something dangerous like this, give me a call and I'll make sure this doesn't happen again." I nodded, then turned my head to look into the den where Cerberus and Blaine refused to let Ayo go, watching Ayo smile apologetically and hugging Blaine tightly in order to comfort him. Upstairs, a baby's wail could be heard and Cerberus hesitated, but the woman in the room patted his shoulder and went upstairs, pausing to give Leon a flirty wink. Leon smiled, watching her go before looking at me.

"Hope to see you again on better circumstances, King." He said. I nodded.

"Same. Give Ayo my best." I replied. He nodded and I walked out the door, closing it behind me and taking a deep breath of the sweet air outside. I turned to stare at the dangerous unfriendly flowers that had bloomed around the entrance of the house, beautifully alluring, but oh so deadly. I lifted my hand, reaching toward one of the black petals laced with poison, but stopped just a couple inches from it, changed my mind and teleported from the mansion of Cerberus to my home in Styx, where Kiko waited for me eagerly.

"Hey, baby girl." I cooed to her gently. Kiko nuzzled my palm and twirled around my legs, though, she paused to peer up at me with eyes that read me like an open book. She licked her rough tongue against my knuckles and I chuckled, petting her.

"Ayo's safe at home," I told her, watching her eyes brighten and her tail flicker, before her features softened and she licked me again, "Yeah, I miss him too. But it's all right. As long as he's safe at home, that's all that matters." Kiko grunted low in her throat in disagreement, making me laugh as I stroked her head.

Our moment was interrupted, however, by a fissure of power that tore through the house sharply and I cursed under my breath, straightening and turning to see Ashter pinning me with a menacing glare.

"I hope you now that now that the dagger's gone, you won't get what you asked for." He sneered. I glared at him, and Kiko growled low in her throat, tail flicking as she crouched down.

"I feel like, even with the dagger, you wouldn't give me shit." I responded icily. Ashter tsked.

"Yeah, I guess so. Too bad. She would've liked meeting you." He added, then flung his hand up to create a portal image in a cloud of black smoke, revealing a tall slender woman with mocha skin and black sisterlocks held back by a bandana. She was young and beautiful with a bounce to her step as she waited tables in some mortal city. And just like that, the image was gone and Ashter was crushing it in his fist, smirking at me.

"She's always wanted to meet the son she thought she lost. But you know, whatever. Enjoy your life, King. Maybe one day you'll have something worthy enough for me to actually let you meet your mother." And a second later, he vanished. I watched him go, eyes narrowed. As soon as he was gone, Kiko whined and curled around my legs. I stroked her velvet soft fur.

"It's all right, Kiko. Doesn't matter," I replied, then got down so I was eye level with Kiko, who nuzzled my face, "The only family I need is you." She licked my face and did a little twirl around me, making me laugh as I rose to my feet.

"All right, I'll feed you, jeez." I told her, moving to the kitchen, dropping my jacket on the sofa along the way.

The woman in Ashter's image was beautiful, intelligent, mystical. There was definitely something not human about her, but something in me told me that wasn't the woman I thought it was. Ashter was toying with me.

With a weary sigh, I washed my hands and fed Kiko, and stayed up all night taking inventory of what we still had, and sent a package out to Ayo with the coins that he deserved after all the shit he went through to help me with the dagger thing, even if it didn't work out.

Too bad, I thought, leaning back on the sofa, draping one arm over the back of it and placing my other hand on Kiko, who lay beside me, licking meat off her claws.

Would've been nice if Ayo and I could've taken our weird relationship a step further.

Some days later, I left my home to meet up with the gang to make arrangements for new cargo coming in when I saw a package stuffed haphazardly into my mailbox. I raised an eyebrow, approaching the brown package and pulling it out. It was the package I had sent Ayo with the coins in it. I cocked my head and saw a note pinned to the side of it, a smirk curving the corner of my mouth. I plucked it off and unfolded it to the very neat, sharp handwriting inside.

King,

You dick, I didn't get the dagger for you. Don't give me these yet. I'll get you your dagger or whatever else. Let's talk about it over coffee. This afternoon at the Chicory Place down on Main. Be there or I'll come for your ass now that I know where you live.

Sincerely,

Ayo.

I chuckled, folding up the note and popping it into my pocket. How that kid knew where I lived, despite being asleep that whole time, was beyond me. But I suppose it was a pleasant surprise. I withdrew my ring-shaped cell phone from my pocket and clipped it on my ear, clicking the speed dial button to call Rain.

"Hey," I greeted him instantly, "Cancel my meeting. I have a new appointment." I didn't wait to hear his bitching at me for the cancellation and hung up, heading down Main Street toward the Chicory Place.

Sometimes, life sucked... But not today.

A/N: Yay, so wonderful~ This turned out better than I thought it would. It was slow going because I wasn't feeling all that good about it with the first part, but yeah. That changed. Now I'm confident. Also, the reason there's no sex in this yet is because Ayo isn't as into it as he pretends to be. He's asexual. But maybe in the future, he won't be opposed to it now that he's got a particular interest in someone ;) Sorry this took so long! Hope you all enjoyed it~