10 - A few dates later

Charon arched a brow, confused at first. But he ended up chuckling. "So it's a gift from you, then." He smiled at Hermes, and looked at both his wrists. He detached a simple, plain golden bracelet on the left side - he had mentioned to Hermes once before that it had basically been the first one he bought to himself, and that he didn't even like it all that much - before he gestured for his boyfriend to put the new one on.

Hermes snorted. "Well, I didn't buy it myself, so no", he protested playfully, carefully opening the bracelet to hook it around Charon's left wrist where a space had been freed up. "I just mean... you know. Keep it on yourself." He checked to make sure it wasn't going to fall open and retired his hands, folding them on his lap and looking at him with a kinder, more sincere smile. "For a good while. Let it collect a bit of memories and dirt, so to speak. Then one day in the future - for my birthday, or an anniversary maybe", he flushed pleasantly when he mentioned a potential anniversary, his smile widening, "if you'll still feel like it, you could gift it to me. By then, I'll accept it."

Charon smiled softly, and cupped Hermes' cheek with one hand, to gently pull him towards him for a soft, loving kiss. "I'll keep it for an anniversary, then," he promised Hermes. He gazed at him with fondness for a bit, before he pointed to the shoes. "Will you keep these, however? I'm afraid they're not my size." He almost managed to keep a perfect pokerface at this one, but he would definitely crack up a smile at Hermes' reaction.

Hermes finally felt his tension melt into that gentle, careful kiss, and he sighed happily, resting his hands on Charon's shoulders.
When his boyfriend tried to be a smartass about the shoes, though, he snorted loudly, trying not to laugh. "Oh, shut up", he exclaimed, pressing his palm against Charon's face to pretend he wanted to shove him away. "I mean, if I have to", he both said and signed in a purposedly overly-animated fashion. "With the giant monster feet you have, you could only manage to wear the shoebox anyway." His grin was brioght once again, and playful.
Charon was really too nice with him.

Charon, with an impeccable new pokerface, brought a hand to his chest when Hermes mentioned his big feet. But since his boyfriend was merely teasing him back, and in a much better mood already, he pushed him back onto the couch, slowly crawling on top of him to pin him down, and finally kiss him long and deep.
He loved Hermes with all of his being, but even more so when he was smiling, and laughing, and playful.

Hermes burst into laughter at the absolutely stone-faced expression Charon offered to him as he brought his hand to his chest in mock offense. Oh, he was hilarious in a way that people that were too scared of him to interact with him would have never been privy to - and that made it even better to Hermes. It was all his.
He let himself be pushed down on the couch to be lovingly assaulted by that giant of a man with a kiss that made him wish he didn't need to breathe as not to break it.
When they had to, though, Charon would find him looking up at him with a fond, loving gaze. "I love you", he murmured, earnest and gentle, reaching up to weave his fingers into long, silvery locks.

Charon's expression softened, and he signed back "I love you", before he kissed Hermes softly, again and again, trapping him on the couch. He'd only let go when he'd feel like he had showered his boyfriend with enough love, or if any of them felt like moving on to the bedroom.
To either sleep, or else.

Coincidentally enough, on the next morning, Hermes would probably wake up to textes from one of his step-brothers at 2 am. The best one.
"heeeey brother its Dio. I changed my numbr again coz my phone fell from the rooftop lmao. long story. anyway, r u free next Friday?? my girl and I felt like celebratin our engagement with a few peeps :-) barely 100 ppl. douchedad is outta town. What a coinkidink <3 So u comin or wat??"
There was a text from one hour later that read "bRO I JUST HEARD YOU GOT A HOT BF. PICS OR IT DIDNT HAPPEN"

With Hermes, one way or another, it always ended up going more towards the else side of things, let's be honest. After properly showering all of his love right back to Charon, his words had become a little less loving and a little more filthy as his hands changed route from being demurely rested over his lover's cheeks to more interesting places.
They'd definitely end up getting in Charon's bedroom soon, and not to sleep. Not right away.
He didn't have the time to even ask if he had ruined the evening - because clearly it had not been the case - but he would make sure to spoil his boyfriend rotten.

When he opened his eyes it was a little past nine on a Saturday morning, and he was spooning with Charon under the blankets.
He was the big spoon, of course. He always insisted to, even if it looked ridiculous because his boyfriend was a whole head taller than him. He smiled to himself remembering the previous night and left a light, gentle kiss on the other man's back before he automatically turned around to reach for his phone - flinching lightly at the little sting of pain in his lower back as he did so.
He found those messages, and even though he hadn't recognized the number, he beamed when he saw just who was writing to him.
"heeeey sup man good to hear from u!! LOL isnt this like the 6th phone u kill this month u madman?? ill wanna kno that long story haha" Dionysus and his TGIF parties were legendary, both for the amount of alcohol that flowed during them, for the sheer amount of people that participated and for the absolutely whack stuff his younger brother got up to every time he got drunk.
Which was kind of often.
"oh if hes away u kno im def showing up! i think ill maybe have sum work but for u ill make space no probs ;-) id love to see u and Aria again, the other time i barely managed 2 congratulate!!" He had to keep himself from laughing too hard when he noticed the next message.
"yOOO BRO WTF WHO TOLD U THAT, HAHA", "WHO SNITCHED LMAO", he answered, even though with the sheer amount of people both he and Dionysus knew, it wasn't all that surprising that he'd learn about Charon sooner rather than later.
Luckily enough, Dio was the brother he was more than fine sharing his private life with.

Dionysus was the kind of man who overslept on Saturday mornings, especially given that he usually went to bed around 5 or 6 am on Saturday mornings.
There were sometimes little accidents however, that included the wrong mixes of alcohol and peanuts - he knew he shouldn't eat those, but in the heat of the moment it just happened, and the next thing he knew he was sobering up on the next morning the hard way in his bathroom.
So of course he was awake on that Saturday a little after 9, and was splashing water over his face when he finally heard his phone buzzing with incoming messages. He smiled to himself when he saw that they were from Hermes, and snorted. "dUDE, everyon's been tellin me about the shady vampire u've been datin for over 2 months, after a while i kinda supposed this was either something serious or his bed skills are incredible :-)) lmao" "since i didnt get pics i kinda hope its serious" "lol i mean dont get me wrong i hope ur sex life is amazing too but keep it sfw i just got out of the bathroom" ":-)))))"

Hermes couldn't hold back a giddy grin. Everyone, huh? Well, he supposed he did talk non-stop about Charon with all of his friends so. Again. He should not feel surprised.
Listen it wasn't his fault if his boyfriend was the most amazing man in existence, he had all the right to be hyped about him!
"hahaha yea i suppose ive not shut up abt him 4 the past 2 months, had 2 kno it wouldve reached ur ears soon" He glanced over Charon's sleeping form and bit his lower lip. "i dunno man i guess its like both?? its serious AND hes got great game under the sheets if u kno what i mean ;-))) ive totes hit the jackpot here", "keep it sfw he says!! u giant hypocrit" He still remembered the time he had received a text ("LOL bruh im drunk af ahahhsahgha look at my gf!!! shes CRAZy hHHAHA") along with a full pic of Ariadne standing on a table and just throwing her bra outside the window. He decided to humor his brother, though, and sent a couple of pictures; one he had asked a passerby to take a shot of him and Charon standing near a bridge, on their first official date. Hermes was making a victory sign and he was draped at the arm of an astoundingly tall man (who close to him looked even taller) all clad in black, large hat and sunglasses in place. "me n dracula <3", he added before sending the next - in a little more domestic context, Charon was chopping some vegetables and had his hair tied loosely and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up - showing off tattoos and the fit, toned forearms and biceps he so much loved. He was clearly fighting off a smile, probably after Hermes had said a dumb joke out loud.
That was one of his favorite pictures.
"hope its sfw enough 4 ur delicate stomach but. i mean did u see those arms. DUDe. my bf is ripped. hes hot af. and he can COOK"

Dionysus's brows quirked and he let out a wide smirk when he saw pictures of Hermes and Charon. Not only had his step-brother hit the jackpot with this man - who was handsome alright, he'd probably have gone for a guy like that too had he not been head over heels for Aria - but he also looked... genuinely happy by his side. And completely smitten.
"wooooooow dude haha you hit the jackpot lmao!" "hes got a weird style but thats kinda funny to see the 2 of u 2gether :-)))" "just 2 be sure tho, he didnt kill anyone right? lol just kiddin"
He paused.
"he didnt, right???"

Hermes snorted. "haha ikr?? hes awesome and hes aaall mine ;-))) ive got a giant goth bf, im one lucky bastrd livin the dream hahhaha". He made a purposeful pause when Dionysus asked him about Charon's criminal record, and he bit back a wide, mischevious grin. "hahahahah naaah man!! he told me hes not killing the people he feeds on and even if he does thats just natural selection so its all fine and dandy hahahha! hes an angel uvu"
He hesitated for a second. "if he promises not to bite anyones jugular does it bother u if i ask him to come along for that friday party?? i dunno if hed say yes but id like you to meet him, youre like the best family member i have"

Dionysus had to hold back a chuckle - he shouldn't make too much noise, from the sounds he got from the bedroom Aria was still sleeping soundly - and replied to his brother. "dude, ofc he can come!! just talk him into not bitin anyone yeah lmao. got some friends who are into that and i heard you wanna keep him all to urself ;-))" He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "gotta leave you there tho bro, im beat and still have to complete my beauty sleep. talk 2u later?" He began to walk back towards his bedroom, where he heard Aria snoring peacefully. Eh. He might need to snuggle with her and kiss her neck for a bit so he might fall back asleep.

Speaking of sleeping people, Charon shifted in his bed, suddenly feeling a little cold in the back, where Hermes had been curled up against before. He turned around sleepily and played big spoon for once, nuzzling his boyfriend's neck.

No lie, Dionysus might need a little bit of pushing to fit back in bed, since Ariadne had currently occupied all of it by assuming the very graceful (no) position of a starfish.
Yes, she was still snoring.

Hermes grinned. "hell yea man im gonna fight all ur friends if they try to snatch him away!! ;-)" He felt Charon sleepily looking for him, and soon enough he had warm breath tickling the back of his neck, sending pleasant shivers down his spine. "yea bro no probs, ill hear from u later, im kinda stuck rn anyways haha!! say hi to Aria 4 me :-DD" He pushed his phone back on the nearby bedside table and turned around a little bit to snuggle against Charon.
He felt absolutely at peace. And now, he had that to look forward to - the possibility of introducing Charon to his favorite brother.

Dionysus chuckled when he saw Ariadne sprawled all over the bed, and probably just as little dressed as he was. He had to maneuver a bit indeed to get her to roll on the side so that he might get back under the blankets, but he eventually managed. He wasn't above tickling his way back into bed if needed, and always managed to get the love of his life to forgive him for waking her up.

Charon eventually woke up, and smiled to himself when he saw Hermes facing him for once. He laid a few soft kisses on his boyfriend's temple while running a hand along his back, supposing he wasn't sleeping anymore.

No lie, Aria did protest when she was tickled - her sides had always been sensitive, and that weakness had been exploited many times the few times she had play-fought with her brothers. The day Dionysus had found out about that had been the end of her peace and quiet. She squirmed and huffed, made a little grumpy by the hungover that made her head throb a little, but she did make space for her fiancé in the end, and she did smile when he'd coo at her and nuzzle against her neck.

Hermes wasn't indeed sleeping anymore, and he grinned brightly when he saw that Charon was awake with him. "Morning, Boss", he hummed, leaning in to kiss him on the mouth. "Slept well? How about I get up, make us some coffee? You look particularly ravishing this morning, if I say so myself!" He looked a particular brand of excited that morning, that was for sure.

Dionysus smiled against Aria's neck, and soon fell asleep with her in his arms.
And it was his turn to snore insanely loud.

Charon arched a brow, and smiled at Hermes before he signed to him. "Only if you aren't sore. I don't remember tending to you yesterday night after sex." He pecked Hermes' lips again, and caressed his hip, waiting for his reply. He wasn't against being spoiled rotten sometimes, but he knew their exchanges tended to be quite... rowdy, at times.

Hermes laughed. "Ah- no, I think we were both particularly, uhm. Worn out, by the time we were through", he observed, the memories still fresh in his mind bringing a grin to his lips. "But I'm fine, Boss, I promise. You should know by now that even if you're a lot to take when you get into it, I'm quite flexible myself. I'm not easy to hurt", he reassured his boyfriend with a wink. He sat up on the bed, stretching a little bit, as if to further demonstrate that he was perfectly fine. "See?"
He was sore, alright. But he kind of liked it, so it was all good.

Charon smiled when Hermes stretched for him to admire his body, and his smile widened slightly when he teased him. "All I see is that you look beautiful. But I'd love a coffee. I'll join you in the living-room in a bit." He blew a kiss to Hermes, and then stretched too, pushing the covers away for a bit in the movement.
He could be a tease too.

Hermes seemed to preen under the compliment - at least judging by how purposefully sensual his stretching had gotten all of a sudden, after being called beautiful. The smug glance he threw at Charon would have been a good indicator, too. "Thanks", he answered, sticking his tongue out at him. As he got up to fish his underwear from the corner where it had been tossed the night before, his eyes closely followed his boyfriend's motions, and he bit his lip when he saw the blanket shift away as he stretched. 
Oh boy.
When he was done pulling up his underwear, he swiftly stole Charon's shirt to wear, throwing a cheeky glance at the other man as he draped himself into it. "Fine, I'll wait for you over there then, mister. Just be careful and get dressed for good, or I am going to jump you on the kitchen table, sanitary or not, and we both know who'd win that fight", he added, pointing an accusatory finger at him before waltzing out of the room.
He was joking, of course.
I promise.

Charon wasn't so sure about how much of it was a joke or not, to be honest. He still felt like slumping with Hermes on this morning, however, so he put his underwear back on as well as his dressing gown, and walked towards the living-room, as planned. He had gone there with a cleaning cloth, and the product he used to tend to his jewelry, so he began to clean his rings while waiting for Hermes.

Hermes hummed a tune while he brewed some coffee, and didn't take long to get to the living room with two filled cups - he had already shoved much sugar in his own, of course. He smiled when he saw his boyfriend already sitting there waiting for him, and he half-sneaked behind him to offer him a kiss on the cheek and his cup. He then let himself fall right next to Charon, and lost himself for a little bit observing as he carefully and expertly cleaned his rings. He noticed one that looked marginally different from all the others - older, definitely not Charon's style either, and he made a mental note to ask about it later.
Right now, he had something else to ask.
He nervously drummed his fingers against the cup's ceramic, and cleared his throat. "So", he started. "How do you feel about parties, Boss? I mean- noisy ones. Like, a hundred-people, alcohol and lots of food, mainly university students?"

Charon had smiled when Hermes had kissed his cheek, and laid down his cloth and rings on the table so that he might take his cup. He was taking a sip of his dark, bitter coffee when Hermes asked him that awkward question. He remained silent for a bit. His initial thought was 'parties? Noisy parties? Noisy parties with a hundred-people-with-at-least-half-of-them-being-uni-students? I hate them', but he couldn't decently answer than. Besides... Hermes seemed quite nervous about that question, and he doubted his boyfriend would have asked him to come to a students' party just for the kicks.

He let out a smile in the end. "I am the dark figure looming in the corners of every party, looking like I dread every second of it, but came for a loved one. Is there someone you'd like me to meet at such a party?" He figured that if it was the case, he could probably try, for Hermes.

Hermes couldn't help but chuckle at the face Charon pulled right after hearing his question. "Aw! Well- I get it, not everyone is a party animal always at the centre of the dancefloor like me, and those particular kind of parties leave you feeling like they've sucked the soul right out of you, right?", he laughed. He still kept his smile when he answered his boyfriend's question. "Well", he started after sipping some of his coffee. "The youngest of my step-brothers, Dionysus, has just proposed to his highschool sweetheart, and he was thinking of celebrating this Friday evening back at my father's place - since he's out of town and all and he invited me to go. And- he's my favorite brother, so of course I told him about you." He paused. "Well, more like he's heard about the tall, handsome stranger I've been unable to shut up about for the past two months, so he's asked about you, and so I thought it would be a good occasion to introduce you." His smile softened. "But you don't have to come if you don't like those kind of gatherings! We can definitely organize for another time, have a quieter meeting somewhere else."

Charon remained thoughtful for a moment. On one side, he really didn't like student parties, and might be a little older than most of the attendees, so it would definitely make things awkward for him.
On the other side, Hermes loved these, and if the party happened at his father's home, there would probably be some of his relatives. He supposed they would be the non-students attending. And... Alright, he loved Hermes so much he could give it a try.
"I will come," he eventually signed. "Are there any other of your relatives I should expect to meet there?"