10 - A few dates later

Charon's life was both more an less busy, lately. He spent much less time checking the stock market, and had actually left his workplace at the reasonable hour of 5 pm for the last 3 Fridays, because he now had dates planned on every weekends. And those dates were always a time for leisure, and happiness. Spending time with Hermes had considerably improved his mood, and he found himself smiling so much after the first one that he'd have sworn he had facial cramps on the next morning.

They went out for dinner, they took rides in his car - that still had no backseat, although the third date had gone by - and, mostly, they had a good time together. And yet, they had kept it sweet and gentle for now, not going further than holding hands, or kissing each other's cheek. An old-fashioned dating, that Charon enjoyed a whole lot.

For their fourth date, on that very night, he had offered Hermes to come meet him in his own apartment. It had began as a dare, mostly, when they had mentioned the fact that Charon actually cooked mean meat pies during one of their weekly texts. And he did cook amazing pies, alright. So he had big plans for that evening.

As soon as Hermes had come up, he had him tour his apartment - that was big but filled with ancient fourniture, that made it more cosy than flashy. He owned expensive fourniture, alright, but he decorated with great taste. They had dinner, and a bit of wine, and Charon smiled and chuckled at Hermes' stories, loving his conversation.

And then they moved on to the couch, where he offered Hermes a drink to end their meal. And he smiled at him as soon as he could sit down by his side. Given all of the alcohol and the good laughs he had had, he was a bit hot by now, so he had rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt and popped a button or two off. He ran his hand into his hair while looking lovingly at Hermes.

Hermes had never exactly been the most private person in the world - exception made for certain taboo topics regarding his numerous family and his background, that were common knowledge only for a very tight and selectioned group of dear friends -, so by the time he and Charon had begun dating for real, literally everyone had known about it. 
Because let's be honest, Hermes couldn't - and wouldn't - shut up a single second about Charon - to anyone who had the patience of listening to him.

His relationships usually started and ended with the quickness and inexorability of a candle consumed by a too-strong flame - most of the times, he was ready to admit, it had been his own fault, and his greediness to have more and more right away. With Charon, everything was different. Slower. Comforting. They talked, and talked, and talked, and it seemed to never find an end. They laughed together, they went on car rides like some glamour couple from the Hollywood of the 20s, they went out to cute restaurants where Charon was a regular and Hermes in turn brought him to little, unknown places where they served the city's best frappes and gelato. Seeing that classy man sit outside a little gelateria with a cone in his hand was honestly an hilarious sight Hermes would have never gotten tired of. 

They held hands and left soft kisses on each other's cheeks, and for once in his life Hermes couldn't even think of asking for more than that. For now, at least.

That night, he wasn't expecting anything either - outside of a good time, an even better dinner, and the best company.
He was right on time for dinner, and as soon as Charon would open the door, he'd find a well-dressed, grinning young man with a packet full of little sweets he'd bought from some good down-town bakery. He noisily voiced just how much he appreciated the subdued, elegant vintage-like furniture Charon had picked for his own apartment, and merrily chatted his ear off at dinner about this and that, showing him all the new signing he had learned during his spare time and secretly delighted every time he'd manage to make him chuckle at some joke or story.

By the time they sat down on Charon's couch to have another drink after dinner, Hermes' ears and brain were buzzing pleasantly and his face was a little bit flushed. He was in the middle of yet another rambling - about a party he'd been invited to for the next week - when his eyes had fallen on Charon and his elegant hands, and slowly the stream of his words had stopped in favor of concentrating on the way those long fingers undid first a couple of buttons of his shirt, then rolled up his sleeves - granting him the sight of toned, muscular tattooed arms he had been longing to see again since their visit at Sakrish's laboratory a month earlier.

He realized he was still staring only when he finally noticed that Charon was looking back at him, his gaze soft and loving and long hair a little ruffled, and he laughed, trying to cover up his fluster as he ran a hand over his own hair. "Oh, Boss", he finally said with a grin, crossing his legs and leaning back comfortably against the back of the couch. His pants rode up his ankles a little bit, showing a little flash of ink underneath. "Are you perhaps trying to seduce me?" He'd ask that question every time Charon would do something out of old-fashioned good manners or showed a little bit of skin, mostly as a running joke to be honest.
He felt a little seduced now though. Not gonna lie.

Charon chuckled, and since Hermes was more comfortable with his signing by now, he didn't hesitate to reply back. "Only if it's working. Is it?" He quirked an eyebrow at Hermes, with a soft smile.

Sweet, beautiful, gorgeous Hermes. He had thrown a few greedy glances at him during dinner, over his tinted glasses, to take in the beautiful hue of his skin, to engrave the real image of his smiles and laughs into his memory, so that he may cherish them forever.

He was actually lost in the contemplation of his boyfriend - boyfriend! He felt ten years younger at the thought - when his eyes drifted down, drawn by the slight sight of ink on skin. Now, normally, under normal circumstances, Charon would have politely asked about it right away. But he had had quite a bit of alcohol, so he acted without thinking much about it. He leaned in towards Hermes, and slid one finger under the fabric of his pants to lift it up just a little bit, and reveal more of those beautiful wings tattooed there. He smiled genuinely, and looked up again. "Nice ink."

"Oh, yes", Hermes both said out loud and signed, chuckling at Charon's ready answer. "Please, was there ever a time where it didn't work? You should know me better than that by now!" It was true, Hermes had never hidden just how Charon's mannerism and looks positively affected him. Sure, maybe he let the other man know in a joking, over-the-top way (once he had gotten his glasses off and he had pretended to lean on a nearby wall and fan himself), but it was mostly to try and downplay just how really attractive he found the older man.

He was caught by surprise, though, when Charon, usually so reserved, leaned in and brazenly lifted the hem of his pants to observe his tattooes. His breath got caught in his throat, and he froze on his spot.
After all those weeks just skirting around physical touches like a couple of fiancées from the mid nineteenth century, this felt so oddly intimate that Hermes felt his face grow warmer by the minute. He still smirked down at Charon, eyes half-lidded, and felt his bravado coming back to him. "Thank you", he signed. "You know. I've been wondering if you've got more ink yourself, aside from your arms and back. And if I'd get to see it again anytime soon", he added, slowly extending an arm and lightly running a single finger over an uncovered forearm. "I really love how it looks on your skin."

Charon observed Hermes for a bit, with still a slight smile - that didn't seem to leave his lips for as long as he had a certain amount of alcohol in his blood. He ran a hand on his mouth and chin at Hermes' indirect question, and then smiled at him, a new idea popping in his mind. And if he could take the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone...

"If you tell me why you got wings tattooed on your ankles, I'll show you the rest of my tattoos. All of them. And answer any question you might have about them."

Hermes' eyes widened in both surprise and eagerness, going hand in hand with his grin. "Well. That surely seems like an offer I just can't refuse", he answered, his voice lowering almost in a purr. He leaned forward a little bit, enough to grab the hem of his pants and roll them both up, showing off tattooed ankles and athletic calves. "Two per ankle, one on each side. To be as fast and quick-witted as the god of swiftness that I bear the name of." He chuckled. It sounded silly, said out loud like that. "And- let's be honest, I like how they look", he added, throwing a mischevious glance at his boyfriend. "Your turn now."

Charon chuckled, but gestured for Hermes to wait. "I will show you, but first-" He actually paused, and seemed to think about something for a bit. Once he was satisfied, he raised his hands slowly, and did a sign - the words 'wings' and 'speed' together. Then pointed at Hermes. "That's your name now, to me." And he repeated it, with a fond smile. Hermes.

He had been trying to come up with a specific sign for his name for quite a while, now. At first, before they met with his family, he hadn't felt like coming up with one, for fear it would only make his heartbreak worse. But afterwards, it had felt too important to be something he'd choose so lightly. And yet- it had felt just right to call him that way.

Hermes had settled down when he had been told to wait (he had pretended to pout for a second, but it had been gone from his face in a flash) and he observed Charon attentively, still with a grin plastered on his lips, wondering what the other man was up to now. As he understood that this sign that he had never seen before was how his name would have been in Charon's language, however, he was shaken by an almost violent surge of emotion inside his chest, that grasped his heart violently and squeezed it roughly. His lips trembled, but he managed to reign himself in, and he just chuckled, bewildered and moved. "Oh, you're terrible", he murmured, shaking his head. "I love it. Thank you", he signed, before catching those traitorous hands in his own to kiss both of their backs and palms.

Once he was sure he wouldn't just jump on the other man and scream to his face how much he loved his stupidly sappy gesture, he let go of him, smiling still - glancing lovingly at him. "I just realized I've never asked, but how do I sign your name? I don't mean how do I spell it. I want to learn the sign you gave to yourself."

Charon grinned when he saw Hermes' reaction. Oh, he had been happy on his own to have come up with a sign for him, but the fact that he was moved by it and kissed his hands made his heart swell with affection. He loved that man so much.

His expression softened however when Hermes asked him his own name, the one he would have given himself. He lifted his hands, and opened one of them in form of a C. He then joined his index and his thumb, to tap them flat in his other palm. Coins. It was oddly simple, and it made him smile with fondness. "My parents both gave me a name when I was a child. This is the one my father gave me. I've decided to take it later on."

Hermes studied the sign Charon was making - carefully and discreetly imitating it once - and smiled gently when he noticed how fond of it his boyfriend seemed to be. "That's very nice", he murmured. "Wait, I'll try too!" He straightened up, fully intentioned to show this beautiful man that he wasn't only a fast runner and talker - but learner as well.

He tried the sign a couple of times before managing to do it swiftly, and the third and final time, he looked up at Charon and smiled softly. He formed a C with one of his hand. Rested his thumb and index finger on the extended palm of his other hand, closing them. Coins. Then, he closed his extended hand, trapping the two fingers within, and lifted both his closed hands to rest them against his chest.
Where his heart was. 
Charon, my beloved.

Charon's heart melted when he saw Hermes trying so hard to replicate the sign of his name. He was about to congratulate him, but he saw him signing some more.

He let out a breathless chuckle, and smiled fondly at Hermes. He didn't sign anything back, this time, reaching out to cup his face instead. He caressed his cheeks with his thumbs, and then leaned in to gently press his lips against his own. No words nor signs had felt enough to convey just how he felt in that moment... but hopefully, this would.

Hermes as well felt himself melt when Charon reached for him, cupping his cheeks, and sighed happily when their lips met in a first, much-sought-after kiss. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders, hoping to keep him there just a little bit longer as he pressed his lips back against his boyfriend's, making it more and more kisses. A barrage of them, a loving assault. Still chaste, still sweet and slow, but with a clear longing behind each and every exchange. He laughed breathlessly after a little bit, and gazed up, staring into Charon's eyes with a little grin as he played with his long hair. "Well. That was nice", he murmured, stealing yet another little kiss.

Charon chuckled softly against Hermes' lips. He too was content with just a few soft kisses, but he eventually pulled away just a bit to gaze at him with fondness. He took the time to sign Hermes' name again, and bring both of his fists to his chest as well. Hermes, my beloved.
And then he kissed him again, and again, and again.

By the time he broke their kisses yet again to reach for his own shirt and undo the last buttons, Hermes had probably had the time to forget about the promise to be shown more of his tattoos. And yet, that's the reason for which Charon pulled his tie off and got rid of his shirt, displaying a beautiful amount of black and purple all over his body. As stated before, around his ribs he especially had a fake see-through tattoo of his own ribs, and the recurring theme was water. There was a bark, and paddles on one of his arms, skulls and odd kinds of coins with a symbol in the middle on the other. There were also a few odd letters - probably from the Greek alphabet somewhere a few times.

If only Hermes' heart hadn't melted in a puddle already by the fact that Charon had gone through the trouble of giving him a name, it would have definitely done so now, when he repeated his gesture, calling him beloved. He could only answer with a soft, pleased noise before losing himself in more of their kisses.

The promise had indeed been completely lost to Hermes' brain since the very first kiss he had shared with Charon. He even had the gall to let out a protesting noise when the other man broke that long streak of affectionate, tender kisses, and opened his eyes to add some words to his disappointment.
The disappointment didn't last long enough for him to formulate a single coherent thought about it.
Lines of grey, purple and black ran all over paper-pale skin, tracing an intricate map of various and different shapes on a powerful chest and along well-defined arms. Hermes was lost in admiration and awe.

Charon's body was like the most fascinating canvas Hermes had ever seen in his life, and he wanted to get his hands all over it.

Before he could even think it through, he raised a hand and lightly traced the skulls and coins over one of the arms, barely brushing his fingers over the lines. He let out a chuckle, eyes still trailing over the tattoos. "I think you made a very poorly thought-through deal, Boss", he murmured. "I'll be getting a lot more informations than you." He lifted his gaze to look into Charon's eyes, smirking at him. "Tell me everything about them."

Charon chuckled, but he was pleased to see that Hermes liked the view. Hell, he loved feeling his fingers on him, and he hoped he would feel emboldened enough to touch him some more.

He told him everything through patient signing. He loved rivers, and any leisure time on the water, especially lakes, where he could go rowing - hence the bark, the paddles and the water. The coins actually bore his family crest - they were an ancient noble family coming from Europe, at least on his mother's side.
Speaking of his mother, Charon pointed to her name inside one of his arms, along with another - Erebus, his father. He then showed him two discrete animals somewhere along his ribs: a tiny rat and a dormouse, Thanatos and Hypnos.

Hermes carefully followed all of Charons' explanations, turning curiously towards the various tattoos as the other man pointed them at him and told what they were about. He smiled lightly. "So that's how you built up these amazing biceps? Rowing away on a boat?", he asked with a smirk at some point, raising a brow and resting both his hands over said muscles. "I'd like to see that one day." He traced back the coins again, but didn't comment on the crest - his father came from some kind of noble heritage too, and he didn't feel like touching the topic for now. He did smile when he found out that Charon had both his mother and father's names permanently etched in his skin - and cooed when they came down to the two little animals that were his brothers. "Aw, Boss. That's very cute", he commented - a little teasing, maybe, but he really did think it was adorable. "You really are a family man, aren't you."

As for being bold enough to touch more. Well. Hermes' hands hadn't left Charon's skin alone a single second for now, and his touches had became increasingly longer and less light. His fingers were splayed over the tattooed ribs now, and as soon as he felt like it was safe enough to do so, he leaned in to leave a kiss on one of the skulls tattooed next to the coins.

Charon nodded at Hermes' remarks, both of them. He made a silent promise to bring him one day on a small trip in nature - where he'd row the boat, and Hermes would make the conversation.
Oh, it would be amazing.

He was distracted from these thoughts when Hermes's lips brushed against his skin on one of his pectorlas, drawing a gasp out of him. He sighed softly, and ran a hand through the younger man's hair, to let him know that he appreciated the gesture, and that he was free to go on if he wished to.

Hermes hummed, his lips still gently pressed against Charon's skin. He held back a little smile when he felt the other man gasp in surprise at his gesture, but sighed, pleased, when he felt Charon's fingers gently ran over his head. Understanding it was permission to continue as he pleased, he shifted a little, getting closer to his boyfriend. His hands ran slowly from his torso to his back, exploring the expanse of it, and he left a trail of kisses from his pectoral all the way up to his shoulder, and then to his neck, the underside of his throat.
He proceeded slowly, as if he feared Charon would stop him any moment now.

Charon smiled to himself when Hermes went up to kiss his neck. He thought distractedly about the fact that he had wanted to keep things slow with Hermes, yet couldn't bring himself to complain in that moment. Things had been slow enough between the two of them - and his boyfriend's eagerness pleased him.

To let him know as such, he gently pushed the hem of Hermes' tee up, to run his hands along his sides, following the edges of his muscles there.

Hermes let out a little gasp when Charon's cold fingers went up past the hem of his shirt and forward, tracing his sides. He chuckled, though, and lifted his gaze to look at his boyfriend, a cheeky smile on his lips. "This has been a lovely evening, Boss", he started, pressing another kiss on his neck. "And I am very much enjoying all the access to these new sights." A kiss on the cheek. "I would gladly offer the same to you, if you want." And on the corner of his mouth. "What do you say, Charon? Want to see a little more of me?"
An offer on the table, much like a transaction. He could take a 'not yet', he guessed - he could take anything, from Charon.
Double meaning not intended but fully adopted.

Charon nodded and mouthed a "yes" to Hermes. He smiled when he finally grabbed his tee to pull it over his head, and finally reveal his boyfriend's defined torso.

They had waited long enough. Especially him. He ran his hands all over Hermes' chest, a little hungrily, and eventually leaned forward to kiss him once more.

He'd happily stay like that on the couch for a bit, content with just kissing Hermes and running his hands on his bare chest, but if his boyfriend did the same he'd soon feel a little too hot and bothered to just stay there. He broke their kiss after a while, and smiled at his boyfriend, before he signed an offer to get up and go to his bedroom.

Once Hermes' shirt was gone, all the bets were off. He let his desire for the other man take the reins, and ran his hands all over his body without restraining himself anymore, sighing and humming in pleasure when his boyfriend touched him with just the same hunger.

Hermes had never been the quietest of lovers - quite the contrary, as Charon was bound to find out during the rest of their night together.

When Charon's lips covered his own again, he didn't content himself with a chaste peck, oh no. Instead he opened his mouth lasciviously for a deeper, hotter kiss.
He almost pouted when the other man broke free from him again, but once again it didn't last. He grinned, biting his lower lip. "Yes, please", he signed.

Charon gently helped Hermes up, and took his hand in his to bring him towards his bedroom. He might have showed it to him earlier that night when he gave him a tour of the apartment, but it was just like the rest: filled with ancient, cosy fourniture. The bed's mattress itself almost threatened to swallow them both when they sat on it, given how comfortable it was.
Alright, the mattress was brand new, compared to the rest.

Charon looked carefully at Hermes. No matter how comfortable they were with each other, there was quite an age gap between the two of them, and he'd rather make sure they were on the same page. "Stop me if I go too far." He didn't know how much Hermes might want of this night with him, but he wanted to make sure he'd do it right.

Hermes let Charon take his hand, like the gentleman he was, and guide him away towards the bedroom they'd previously visited. He appreciated his thoughtfulness, and how carefully he moved forward into this new stage of their relationship.
But when they were both sat on that very soft mattress (he was more used to either sleep on less comfortable couches, or to be on more spring-y mattresses, so he knew there was a difference here) and Charon signed to him again, he had to use all of his willpower not to laugh. He couldn't help a smirk, though. "Curious, Boss", he hummed, shifting on the bed a little to be even closer to his boyfriend, laying a hand on his thigh. "I was about to tell you the same thing."
He grinned. "Are you afraid I'll run away? Because unless you get a knife out, or take me to some weird bondage playroom, then I think we all know here that I am not going anywhere until I get a piece of this", he added, gently squeezing his thigh - dangerously close to his groin.

Listen, he was also a little tipsy. Don't judge him.

Charon chuckled. He'd have wished he could've signed to Hermes 'I am young, rich and successful, but I'm wounded you'd take me for Christian Grey', but it would have proven a little bit difficult. And that was without taking into account the hand on his thigh, that got him to gasp softly once more.

He looked down at Hermes' hand, and mirrored the gesture, gently rubbing his thumb where he had rested his palm on Hermes' thigh, before he leaned in for another long, deep kiss.

Things might start to speed up a bit from now on. Did he mind it? Nope. Not at all.