Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sweet. Tart. Spicy. The unmistakable signature of Eugene‘s magic. Like blackcurrants mixed with chili, unique, just like his chaotic mind.
Gavus still remembered this signature vividly, from the day over a decade ago when they decided to merge their powers into one, in order to protect their family from the Celestial and Hypogean forces… but ultimately failed.
Back then, the peculiar energy had rushed into him like a wave, almost overwhelming him with its boundless potential. But now it was more of a faint, gentle flow, originating from his hand and pulsing into his body.

Gavus opened his eyes to find himself in an unfamiliar surrounding. Not the Celestial prison in which he had spent years for high treason. Not the small hut at the border of the Dark Forest in which they raised the twins as their own, which burnt down during the assault for ownership of the divine weapons.
He lay on top of a big bed in a room most enigmatic. Filled with furniture in purple, lavender and magenta shades it felt oddly calming and familiar.
His gaze wandered from mustering the room towards his hand, from where the faint magic was still flowing.
Kneeling on the floor next to the bed, holding Gavus‘ hand with one side and resting his face on his own arm on the other side, was Eugene, sound asleep.
His Hypogean partner-in-crime, father of his kids and… and what? Was Gavus allowed to think of them as lovers, or had a decade of separation changed things?
Absent-mindedly he let his thumb brush over Eugene‘s hand, dry and covered with little wounds. Where might these wounds have come from? From Eugene‘s own time in confinement? From battles fought without Gavus supporting him?
After having spent some years so close together, sharing almost every moment of every day, every event, now not being part of each other‘s lives after being ripped apart for more than a decade had left a hole in Gavus‘ heart.

The door opened and Liberta‘s head peaked in. „Daddy, I can take over if you are tir- PAPA! You’re awake!“
Liberta hurried over, and jumped into hugging his father on the bed. The ruckus also lured Lucilla into the room, who did as her brother and threw herself into an enthusiastic (maybe a bit too enthusiastic) hug.
The excited squeals of the children and rocking of the bed finally also managed to wake Eugene from his sleep. „Gavus!“ he beamed and tried to stand up, one of his knees giving a painfully sounding crack as he did so.
„Wow Daddy, you‘re so old you’re practically starting to decay already.“ Lucilla smirked.
„What was that? I‘ll have you know that your smart, beautiful and kind father is still feeling very young and agile, thank you very much!“ Eugene retorted with a playful pout.
„Smart, beautiful and kind… so you mean Papa?“ Lucilla giggled with a most devious smile.
„Ohhh, now you‘ve done it! You‘re in for some tickles, young lady!“ Eugene threw himself into the bed and playfully tried to tickle Lucilla, who in turn tried to hide behind Gavus and Liberta until they all laid exhausted yet laughing in a big cuddle pile on the bed.

Warmth, affection and a deep feeling of belonging welled up in Gavus‘ heart, pushing out the somber thoughts he entertained mere minutes ago.
Their kids, Lucilla and Liberta, having grown up into two beautiful teens, were still the biggest cuddle bugs when it came to their fathers.
As for Eugene, it felt like he had not changed one bit in the last few years. Cocky, playful, sly, openly affectionate, breathtakingly beautiful - just like he was on the day they were ripped apart by Hypogean and Celestial forces.
His hand had found Eugene‘s again, after the Hypogean had let go when he jumped into the cuddle pile and when Eugene did not pull away, Gavus softly moved his thumb over its back.
Eugene continued to bicker with the kids, but a slight red flush at the tip of his ears betrayed this indifference.

Lucilla and Liberta told their fathers about the War of Truth and how with the help of a kind person who retrieved snips of journal entries and was always there to lend an ear and offer advice, they were able to recall their past memories.
Having left the Celestial and Hypogean armies behind, the siblings combined forces to break into the Hypogean prison and free Eugene and then continue to the more heavily guarded Celestial incarceration plane where they were able to retrieve a very weak Gavus who needed Eugene‘s support to even walk out of his cell, only to collapse shortly after.
„Daddy carried you here while you were out.“ Lucilla grinned „And then didn‘t leave your side for even one second. After Liberta needed a break from administering healing magic to you, he took over. Can you imagine?“ she giggled „Hypogean healing magic. Probably hurts you more than it heals.“
So that‘s how it had been. And the reason for everyone‘s excitement when Gavus had finally come to again.

It was no wonder that he had collapsed after being broken out of confinement.
After he had been taken in, Celestial scholars demanded him to turn in „the ring of sin“ as they called it. The manifestation of his bond with Eugene, after they combined his Celestial and Eugene‘s Hypogean power in order to save their children from captivity.
High treason, they called it. Tainting the Celestial power, bestowed to him by Dura with the filth of a Hypogean, their arch enemies. Yet now that it had been done, the Celestial scholars were abundantly curious to study the outcome of such a sacrilegious union.
The ring, Gavus had explained to them, was not something he could „hand over“, as it was a part of himself. Manifesting whenever he used his power.
Which led the scholars to use Gavus himself for their „research“. Evaluating the properties of the ring under various stress levels of the bearer. Draining him of almost all magic energy, leaving just enough for their lab rat to not perish from magical depletion.
And to no avail. They did not understand the compound of the ring, how it was possible to emulsify Celestial and Hypogean power into a physical yet intangible manifestation.
What little magic he had left to keep him alive under normal conditions was quickly exhausted during their escape from the prison, most likely the reason why he collapsed on their way home.

Home…
„By the way…“ Gavus remembered the question which had been burning on his mind ever since he awoke. „What is this place? It‘s not our little house in the forest, is it?“
Eugene perked up and his eyes started sparkling. „You like it? The kids and me created it!“
„You… created it? How?“
Eugene conjured up his Trickster‘s Cube with a smug grin and let it twirl around in his hand. His miraculous artifact, which was fueled by the power of free-thinking. With boundless creativity the possibilities were nigh endless. „I created a pocket dimension with the help of the Trickster‘s Cube with only one small interface to the normal world. This way whether with large-scale search magic or scouts, they will never be able to find us.“
A pocket dimension? Gavus had heard of the concept of dimensions and how occasionally, due to dimensional glitches travelers from other dimensions ended up in Esperia.
But creating a whole dimension on his own? Eugene never ceased to amaze him.
„And together we created this house within that dimension. Our place to be at home as a family.“ Eugene looked expectantly at Gavus who was still processing all the information and grew increasingly anxious the longer Gavus remained silent.
„… do you like it?“ he asked reluctantly.

Gavus sighed in defeat, but could not stop smiling and gave his family a big hug. „I love it. It‘s our home after all.“

Chapter Text

It felt like hours, maybe it had been hours, which the reunited family had spent huddled up together on the huge bed, catching up on what had happened in the life of the twins after they had been separated, their plans for the future, and simply enjoying each others‘ presence.

As the sky outside slowly started to turn a bright orange, Lucilla, who had been frequently side-eyeing Gavus’ hand on Eugene’s suddenly jumped off the bed and proclaimed a bit too loud: „Ohhh, I forgot to get some supplies for our new home! Berti, let‘s go to one of the towns to get them before it gets dark!“
„But I wanna stay with Papa and Daddy…“ Liberta snuggled up tighter to his two fathers, which earned him a bombastic eye roll by Lucilla.
„Go with you sister.“ Gavus said calmly and ruffled Liberta‘s hair. „I promise, we will still be here once you are back. Nobody will tear us apart from now on.“
Reluctantly Liberta let go of his fathers and followed Lucilla outside, who closed the door behind them.
Their steps grew fainter, until they were gone.

Eugene moved slightly to sit closer to Gavus on the bed. „Geez, can you believe the little devil? Trash-talking my heartfelt attempt at healing magic… it… it wasn‘t as bad as she said, was it?“
Gavus pulled Eugene‘s hand, which he had not let go of ever since he grabbed it a while earlier towards himself and pressed Eugene’s knuckles softly against his mouth, never losing eye contact. „It was… a little bit prickly, energizing… and overflowing with affection. Just like its caster.“
Blood rushed to Eugene‘s face and his lips started to quiver for a moment, before he found his wits again. „Where in the world did you learn to talk like that? Had any side-pieces during our separation?“
Gavus could not suppress a bitter laugh. „Hardly.“ he started to pull Eugene on his lap who did not resist. „Not a day has passed in my confinement, without my thoughts being filled about the kids… or you. All the things we did, all the things we didn’t do… All the things I was not able to tell you.“

While he was speaking, Eugene had inched increasingly closer to him and had started to press little kisses against Gavus‘ cheek bones and then the side of his neck.
„What a coincidence.“ he whispered between kisses, the warm breath tickling Gavus‘ neck, much to Eugene‘s delight. „My thoughts were filled with the same things, but one in particular…“ he continued the trail of kisses towards Gavus‘ collar bones.
„And what was that?“ Gavus hummed, his breathing starting to become more pronounced.
„That I wanted to touch your dick again.“

Gavus could not help it and broke out into laughter, which in turn completely threw Eugene off his game. „Wait no, I mean…“ Eugene was unable to finish his explanation, as Gavus gently grabbed his nape and pulled him in for a kiss.
Slow and careful at first, but Gavus had been starved for Eugene‘s affection for over a decade and apparently so was Eugene, because they soon found their tongues intertwined, greedily wanting to taste more of each other.
„Go on then, it‘s all yours.“ Gavus whispered during a short moment in which they caught their breaths.
„Wha…?“ Eugene seemed to be in a daze from their passionate kiss, incapable of recalling what he had said moments prior.
„My dick.“
Gavus normally was not one to be so brazen with words, especially when it came to vulgarities, but he knew just how excited his adorable Hypogean partner got everytime he did something unexpected. And right now he wanted to indulge him as much as he could, to make up for over 10 years lost to them.
It seemed to be very effective, as Eugene excitedly engaged them in yet another deep kiss while his hand found its way down between Gavus‘ legs for the object of his desire.

Gavus in the meantime started to explore his partner‘s body as well. Did he still like the same things as he did long before?
His hand wandered over Eugene‘s ribs, up to his chest. Eugene‘s nipples stood pert on his chest, a darker shade of lavender than the rest of his skin.
Gavus carefully brushed his thumb over one and as to confirm his hopes, Eugene twitched ever so gently into the touch.
There it was again, this… feeling of pure elation, when something he did elicited this kind of reaction in his partner.
He wanted more- no. Needed more.

While Eugene was carefully caressing Gavus‘ length, occasionally pulling the delicate skin back with his clawed hand, Gavus alternated between running his hands over Eugene‘s sides and his nipples.
On a whim, he decided to gently squeeze one between the sides of his index and middle finger, resulting in Eugene breaking their kiss into a surprised moan.
Gavus seized the chance to grab Eugene‘s waist with one hand and lift him up just a little higher, so as to have the Hypogean‘s chest on the same level as his face.
Eugene, having lost his touch of Gavus during that movement let out a dissatisfied noise and inhaled in order to start protesting, when Gavus lips met his nipple and instead of a complaint, just another moan escaped him.
Desperately, he dug his fingertips into Gavus‘ hair to gently pull it, while Gavus‘ other hand which was not holding Eugene reached for his partner‘s erection.
„So wet already…“ he commented on the state in which he found it, but quickly resumed to suck Eugene‘s nipple.
He expected a snarky retort by the normally so quick-witted Hypogean trickster, but that very Hypogean was now a moaning mess against him, with the stimulation from both, his chest and his nether parts not leaving any space for a normal thought process.
„Gavus, if you continue… I… I.. ahhh-“ with a shudder Eugene came, warm cum squirting over Gavus‘ hand and against his chest while he continued to slowly stroke Eugene for a little longer, to allow his partner to ride out his orgasm.

„Haah… haah… Gavus… not fair…“ Eugene breathed heavily against Gavus‘ hair. Gavus slowly lowered him from where he had held him to be on eye-level again and by Dura, this was a sight to behold.
Eugene was beautiful in his afterglow, hair disheveled, skin flushed and dark eyes sparkling with tears.
The first time he had beheld this spectacle many years back, he had been too confused by his own feelings at that moment to pay proper attention to the Hypogean. The second time his worry about his partner‘s health during the Blood Moon was occupying his thoughts.
But now there was no such distraction. Just the love of his life, here in his arms, trying very hard to catch his breath in order to launch a complaint which he was very much looking forward to.

„Gavus!“ Eugene griped, as the Celestial reclined back into the bed, pulling his partner with him to rest on his chest.
„Yes?“
„How dare you! When I wanted to make you feel good first!“
Gavus had nothing to say in his defense. At least nothing which would not upset Eugene even further. Instead of a reply he gently caressed his partner‘s nape and let his fingers run down his spine.
Suddenly Eugene sat up. „I totally forgot!“
„Forgot what?“
Eugene had turned around and grabbed hold again of Gavus‘ length. „I wanted to know how the sparkly cum tastes like!“
„The sparkly… what?“
„Your cum! Did you never notice that it‘s sparkly?“
„I… no? Not that I ever paid attention to it… or had many occasions in which that would have been possible.“
„It totally does and it‘s fascinating!“ Eugene had been successfully refilled with determination and now focused his full attention on the still erect length between Gavus‘ legs.
Careful to not let his claws touch any sensitive spot he pulled the soft skin back to reveal the glistening tip and slowly ran his tongue across it. Gavus inhaled sharply at the unfamiliar sensation, which Eugene took as a sign to continue kissing and licking the tip while running his hand up and down the throbbing shaft. „You can pull my hair if you like.“ he said with a seductive smile between two kisses.
„Why- ahh, why would I do this?“ Gavus huffed.
„Try it out. You might just like it.“ And with these words, he took Gavus fully into his mouth.
Wet, soft, warm… tight whenever Eugene pressed his tongue against him, trapping him between the roof of Eugene‘s mouth and his tongue. Different than that night when he had been in Eugene, but amazing nevertheless.
Gavus noticed that involuntarily his hands had indeed found their way into Eugene‘s hair, holding him tight and feeling the up and down of his head on him.
Slowly, a familiar feeling was building up in him, growing more intense with every move of his partner‘s tongue around him.
„Eugene…“ he huffed, rocking his hips with Eugene‘s movements.
„Mhm?“ Eugene hummed, Gavus still in his mouth.
„I‘m close…“
A sound that was probably meant to be „Excellent.“ but sounded much more abstract with a dick in mouth came from below his navel and was accompanied with Eugene increasing the speed of his tongue and hand alike.
This was enough to drive Gavus over the edge, filling Eugene‘s mouth with his seed while his hands were tightening their grip of Eugene‘s hair until he ran dry.

As Gavus was catching his breath, his partner emerged from between his legs and snuggled up next to him. He did indeed have a very faint speck of something sparkling the corner of his lip.
Gavus wrapped an arm around him and gave him a careful kiss to the forehead. „So… how did it taste?“
A bright smile ran across Eugene‘s face. „Gentle… brimming with a kind warmth. Just like its caster.“

Chapter Text

Gavus loved cake.
He did not need sustenance to survive, as his body was functioning off the divine power of Dura, but during their time with the kids who needed to eat, he had been offered a few bites here and there and cake was just simply… divine.
He mentally chastised himself for the pun while taking another bite of the fruity tarte which Eugene had prepared for their afternoon tea.
They had made it a habit to have meals together with the kids, now that they were reunited as a family. It was a welcome bonding experience, learning how everyone‘s day had been so far, making plans, or just having some innocent small-talk.

„So, Daddy and Papa. Aren‘t you actually married?“ Lucilla asked while piercing a piece of apple with her fork, like she would pierce an enemy with her scythe. (Knowing full well that scythes are meant for slicing.)
Eugene choked on his tea, resulting in a coughing fit, while Gavus was clueless. „What do you mean, married? Never heard of that term before.“
Liberta, who had rushed to gently tap his daddy‘s back to help him over the coughing fit, attempted an explanation.
„It‘s a human ceremony between two individuals, either when they love each other or for political reasons. A man who underwent this ceremony would then be referred to as husband, a woman as wife. The ceremony includes a vow to always be together until death, not take any other partners, care for each other, start a family, raise kids with each other… that kind of stuff. As a common gesture, the couple would exchange rings as a sign that they belong to each other.“
„And you do have matching rings, don‘t you?“ Lucilla smirked with fake innocence while continuing to molest her tarte.
„You mean these?“ Gavus conjured up his crescent ring, a manifest of Eugene and him merging their powers to protect their children. Indeed, it did match Eugene‘s artifact ring.
„And you raised two fantastic kids together.“
„The most fantastic kids there ever could be.“ Gavus indulged her with a smile.
„And you‘re sleeping in one bed togeth-„ „ALRIGHT LITTLE MISS!“ Eugene had finally regained his composure and interrupted the conversation.
Gavus knew that Eugene was used to being painfully open about these things to anyone who didn‘t ask. But it seemed that even for him there were limits, for example when it were his own children who were teasing him.
„Married… huh.“ Gavus mumbled to himself while he enjoyed the last bits of his tarte and observed Eugene and Lucilla getting into an increasingly heated debate, which included Lucilla shouting „You two are even ulting together!“ and Eugene desperately explaining why this was a valid battle strategy.

Later that day the two fathers were alone at home. Lucilla and Liberta had gone out to attend to their hobbies which they had taken a liking to, now that they were free of the cruel fate the world had wanted to destine them to.

„Gavus! I have a surprise for you! Follow me!“ Eugene took Gavus‘ hand and pulled the Celestial with him, a grin of anticipatory excitement on his face.
Gavus groaned „Eugene, is this gonna be one of your pranks?“
„No no no no! It will be amazing! Trust me! You do trust me, right?“
Gavus smiled defeatedly and let himself be dragged along by Eugene until they reached a door. A door in a place where up until this morning no door had been.
„… Eugene, why is there a new door here?“
Eugene pressed the handle down and pulled Gavus inside.
Or rather… outside?

They found themselves under the wide late afternoon sky. In front of them, surrounded by lush nature, what appeared to be a pond with steamy vapor clouds arising from within.
Gavus crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. „Sooo… that‘s your surprise? A nice little backyard?“
Eugene‘s grin turned into a pout. „It‘s not a backyard. Well. Technically I guess it is, BUT the main point is this natural hot spring here!“
„A hot spring?“
„Yes! Remember how you told me that you miss the lavish hot baths you had when you were still in the Celestial realm? I wasn‘t able to create a room like this for our house, but I found a way to append this place to the pocket dimension interface. So we can have hot baths whenever we like from now on.“
Gavus wasn‘t sure what to be more impressed about. That Eugene was able to connect more than one space to this miracle which was their new home, or that he had remembered what Gavus had told him during a night many years ago, when they were still in their old little hut near the Dark Forest.
And it was indeed still a thing he missed, relaxing in a hot bath after a day‘s work was done, soothing muscles and mind alike. After his defection from the Holy Mountain the water for his washcloth was lukewarm if he was lucky, cold when he was not.

„I… thank you. That‘s actually pretty amazing.“ Gavus admitted.
Eugene‘s smile widened. „Wanna take a dip right now? I brought some soap and towels.“
„I‘d love to. I hope you will be joining me?“
„Wouldn‘t miss it for the world.“ Eugene said, and with that he took a step to stand directly in front of Gavus and started to fiddle with Gavus‘ robes.
Gavus could very well have undressed himself and they both knew that. Yet, he welcomed the intimate and caring gesture, as his Hypogean partner slowly peeled fabric layer by fabric layer from Gavus‘ body, occasionally brushing a finger over bare skin in the process.

„There you go!“ Eugene smiled when he was done. „You can get in already, I‘ll join you in a bit.“
For a short moment, Gavus deliberated whether he should voice his desire to undress his partner in turn, but then decided that he did not want to interfere with Eugene‘s plans today.

The water was warm, but not too hot. Gavus slowly lowered himself into the spring to sit on a bit of even ground and stretch out his limbs. His thoughts wandered to his time before his defection. The huge, intricately decorated baths in the Celestial realm with water at the perfect temperature, mixed with luxurious bathing supplements to ensure the typical immaculate physical appearance of Celestials.
This here was different. As makeshift as can be. But it was prepared by Eugene as a treat specifically for Gavus. And he loved it.
Eugene appeared behind him, at the rim of the spring, carrying a small wooden bowl with a piece of soap. „Want me to wash your hair for you?“
„Mhh, that sounds like a terrific idea.“ Gavus hummed.
Eugene sat down behind him and bade Gavus to rest his head on his legs. Using the wooden bowl he carefully poured some of the warm water over Gavus‘ hair and applied the lather.
The Hypogean had long, sharp claws. Yet whenever he was touching the kids or Gavus, he made sure to be extra careful to not accidentally scratch them. Except for, well… certain special situations between Gavus and him, in which he lost his self-restraint.

The lather had a nice, mild scent and the way in which Eugene gently rubbed his scalp made him feel an indescribable feeling of good and… more.
Much to Gavus‘ dismay, Eugene eventually removed his hands and carefully rinsed out the lather with another few bowls of warm water.
„And done.“ Eugene said softly with a satisfied smile.
„The things you can do with your hands never cease to amaze me.“ Gavus grabbed one of Eugene‘s hands and pressed a kiss on the back. „Want me to do your hair next?“
Eugene‘s smile widened. „I‘d love that.“ And before Gavus could even consider to get up from where he was sitting to take up the same position as Eugene had at the rim of the pond, when he had taken care of Gavus‘ hair, Eugene had already removed the towel he had been wearing around his hips and sat down in the water, in front of Gavus.
Well, that clearly worked too.
With the same care which Eugene had demonstrated earlier, Gavus applied the lather and started to massage Eugene‘s head. Eugene sighed with relish and angled his head a bit further back to allow Gavus to reach his hairline effortlessly, moving his lower body ever so slightly to end up pressed against Gavus‘ inner thighs. An unfortunate placement, yet Gavus entertained the thought that it might have been a deliberate move.
Finishing up his massaging of Eugene‘s head, he gave the hairline behind Eugene‘s ears and on the nape of his neck a few extra careful rubs and then proceeded to rinse the lather.
„There we go.“ he hummed and before he knew it, his Hypogean partner had reclined against his chest and was now fully pressed against him, with his back on Gavus‘ front.
„We should do that more often.“ Eugene sighed comfortably and nuzzled the back of his head into the crook of Gavus‘ neck.
„Mhh, we could? Unless your interface is one-time only.“ Gavus wrapped his arms around his partner and rested his chin on Eugene‘s head.
Eugene cackled while he took Gavus‘ left hand and carefully intertwined their fingers. „You know my interfaces. They are there to be used as often as possible.“ A pause. „Especially by you.“

Gavus could not suppress a breathed laugh. „You couldn’t just have us enjoy this without your sleazy jokes, couldn‘t you?“
Eugene turned around and slowly straddled Gavus‘ lap, eyes sparkling with determination and a sultry smile on his lips.
„Sais the one who has been rock-hard ever since I sat down.“ His arms wrapped around Gavus‘ neck and he brought their faces together. „And you know better than anyone that I am… not joking.“ The last words had been a mere whisper against Gavus‘ lips. When Gavus took the bait and leaned in however, he was pushed back by Eugene, gently but determined.
„Nah-ah. Today you will just lean back and let me do the honors. No touching.“

Gavus leaned back, reluctantly. He wanted to touch Eugene, see him react to Gavus‘ fingers grazing his skin, kiss him to feel him moan against his lips.
Not sit there, keeping his hands to himself, while Eugene adjusted himself over Gavus’ lap and-
„Are you out of your mind? You aren‘t even prepared!“ Gavus attempted to lean up but was pushed back again.
„No worries, I prepared myself earlier.“
And as if to prove his words, Eugene lowered his hips, slowly taking Gavus‘ tip in.

So he had, indeed, prepared himself. Much to Gavus‘ dismay, as he wholeheartedly enjoyed that part as well. Seeing Eugene nearly become undone just from his fingers, taking the time to make sure that he was really ready to take his partner.
Not like the very Hypogean himself who was impatient and would deem himself ready too early, when he clearly wasn’t.
As demonstrated right at this very moment, with Eugene proceeding only very slowly, frustratingly so, to take Gavus in further.
„I won‘t heal you if you hurt yourself!“
He would definitely heal him if he hurt himself.

Seeing Eugene struggling on top of him but not being allowed to even touch him churned something up in Gavus. A thought occurred deep down in the very primal parts of his mind. Grabbing Eugene‘s hip, pushing him down while simultaneously thrusting up. It would be so easy, all he had to do was reaching out and…
No! He needed to get these thoughts out of his head, quickly. The only thing he could think of to divert his thoughts was the topic they had discussed during tea break earlier.
„So, husbands, huh? …Are we husbands?“
He felt Eugene tightening around him, but quickly regaining his wits. „I don‘t know. Are we?“ He was almost all the way down now.
„Kind of… backwards? We started with the -ah family.“ Gavus sighed out a breath he hadn‘t realized he was holding. Eugene had completely taken him in now and started to slowly move his hips on Gavus‘ lap.

In the orange-red light of dusk Eugene‘s pale lavender skin, wet from the water around them sparkled with every move. And every move Gavus felt in his core as they were connected. The familiar warm, fluttering feeling in his chest, which was a unique reaction to the person in front of him stirred, expanded as if boiling over inside of him and eventually grew too big to be contained.
Unconsciously Gavus had extended his arm, with an overwhelming need to touch the glistening skin in front of him, to caress it, letting Eugene feel his affection.

Gavus was ripped out of his daze when his hand was intercepted and shoved away, a little more assertive than what he deemed adequate for the situation they were in.
„I said… no touching!“ Eugene hissed under his heavy breathing.
Gavus‘ overflowing affection with no outlet turned into frustration. „Dura be damned, Eugene, let me…“ his voice softened, „let me touch you.“
„NO!“ Eugene stopped his movements and looked at Gavus with an equally frustrated gaze.
„You‘re always doing this! When I want to make you feel good you‘re suddenly all over me and make me come before you!“
„Is that… a bad thing?“ Gavus inquired dejectedly. He honestly didn’t know. Having Eugene become undone from his touching or his kissing felt like the greatest miracle every time they were together and he had started to become hungry for it.
„It‘s not….“ Eugene furrowed his brows and took a deep breath. „But you know, I deem myself very good at… this,“ he gestured vaguely in the direction of where he was sitting on Gavus‘ lap „and you jumping in always throws me off my game because it completely ruins my plans!“

Gavus could not suppress a chuckle now.
He leaned forward and brought his face close to Eugene‘s. „Sooo the mighty Hypogean Trickster, Master of Chaos, doesn‘t like his plans ruined?“
Eugene swallowed visibly and averted his eyes, his face and ears obviously flushed. „Not like this at least…“ he mumbled.
„Okay.“ Gavus smiled with earnest intention. „I will keep my hands to myself. May I… kiss you at least?“
No reply. Instead, a pair of soft lips, carefully pressed onto his own, while Eugene commenced the rhythmical rocking of his hips against him.
Gavus parted his lips ever so slightly to carefully nip Eugene‘s upper lip which elicited a soft sigh from his partner.

After all these years of being together, it was amazing that there were still new sides to discover of Eugene, the Hypogean who came into his life one day - or rather had been forcibly brought into Gavus‘ life by none other than himself - and had proceeded to turn his whole view on life upside down.
By agreeing to care for a pair of infants he had absolutely no relation to, staying with them when he could have left, and protecting Gavus and the kids from what Gavus had believed were allies.
Eugene had always been honest and critical of Gavus‘ stern convictions and even though it had hurt, he had been right all along.
This had earned him Gavus‘ respect as friend and trusted ally while the following three years of living together with the kids in seclusion made Eugene take up yet another place in Gavus‘ heart, which Gavus had not even known existed.

Seeing Eugene beaten down and dragged away together with Lucilla by the Hypogean forces on that fateful day a decade ago, where despite resorting to drastic methods they ultimately failed to save their children, had felt like Gavus‘ heart had shattered into tiny irreparable shards.
The years in confinement had the same questions play over and over in his head, eroding his psyche like waves against a cliff: Was Lucilla safe? Would the kids be forced to fight each other eventually? Was Eugene still alive? How did Hypogeans treat insurgents charged with high treason? Would he survive the next Blood Moon while in confinement? Should Gavus have swallowed his pride back then and told Eugene that he loved him?
…
Did Eugene know now, that Gavus loved him?
„Eugene…“ Gavus broke the kiss.
„Mhh?“ Eugene had both his hands on Gavus‘ chest for added support.
„I love you.“
A soft shudder jolted Eugene‘s body, betraying his sassy answer. „Oh, you do? How come you never told me?“
Gavus chuckled. „My bad. I‘ll make up for it.“
„And here I thought we were just two good friends who were having a good time together.“ Eugene smirked playfully.
Gavus knew Eugene was playing but still decided to retort earnestly. „Compared to you this is nothing I would do with someone I only deem a ‚good friend‘.“
Eugene cackled. „Those days are over. As if I could ever go back to any other partner now.“
That was probably the closest thing to „I love you too“ that could be expected of Eugene, who was surprisingly bashful whenever earnest expressions of one‘s feelings were involved and always tried to tiptoe around it.
And it was more than enough for Gavus.

He brought their lips together again, more forcefully this time which was reciprocated with equally ferocious hunger by his partner, tasting his tongue and the roof of his mouth.
Eugene‘s hands had found their way behind Gavus‘ head now, fingers clawing in his hair along with his movements.
„Eugene…“ Gavus breathed under their kiss „I‘m close…“
„Just what I wanted to hear.“ Eugene whispered with the most sultry smile and turned his face to the side, away from Gavus.
For a split second Gavus was honestly confused and slightly crestfallen from losing Eugene‘s lips.
But these thoughts were quickly drowned out by the feeling of a careful nibble on his ear, which transitioned into a soft bite.
This new and… weird but pleasant feeling together with the sensation of Eugene so tightly around him was enough to make him lose himself. „Please,“ Gavus panted with utmost restraint to keep himself from coming „may I touch you now?“
A hot „Yes.“ was breathed against his ear after which the nibbling continued and he felt the soft caresses of Eugene‘s claws on his nape.
Not wasting a second, Gavus dug his left hand into Eugene‘s thigh and grabbed Eugene‘s length with the other hand, to drive Eugene over the edge while he himself came with long, hard thrusts into his partner until they both ran dry.

Gavus slumped back against the boundary of the hot spring, taking Eugene with him to rest on top of his chest, still trying to catch his breath.
His hand had already been washed clean of Eugene‘s milky cum by the warm water around them, so he carefully brought it onto Eugene‘s head and started to run his fingers through the dark hair.
„Eugene?“
„Hmm?“ Eugene hummed exhaustedly.
„Let‘s get married.“
From where Eugene‘s check was resting on Gavus‘ chest, Gavus could feel that his partner was smiling. „You wouldn‘t want to marry an old fart like me.“
Gavus wrapped an arm around Eugene‘s back, pressing him tightly against himself. „I would not want anybody else but you for the rest of my life.“
No reply. But a drop of warm water ran down his chest from where his partner’s head lay against him. Maybe a splash from the hot spring.

—————————————

A small speck of black caught Liberta‘s eye, as the family was sitting on the breakfast table, listening to one of Eugene‘s stories while Gavus was pouring tea for everyone.
He had to do a double take, and indeed, it was a ring which was adorning the ring finger on Gavus‘ left hand.
Slim, polished black with small pulsating lines of red running through it.
Liberta‘s eyes wandered towards Eugene‘s left hand and as to confirm his suspicion, there too he saw a small, unseeming golden ring with a light blue and light yellow inlay, while Eugene continued to add sugar to his tea, much to Gavus‘ dismay, prompting them to bicker about the way in which tea should be consumed to enjoy it‘s natural flavor.

The young boy smiled and took a sip of his own tea.
His fathers were happy and at peace, after all they had to endure. They deserved it.