13 - Glitter and cold

Charon sighed, but eventually gave in, with a small smile. He did insist on helping Hermes to put his clothes inside his dressing room, making some free space for him to settle in however he pleased.

A few hours later on that day, Hypnos would perk up with a smile. He was sitting with Michela on his bedroom's bed, for their first movie night together. "Hey, Michi- My brother would like your number. Charon, the older one. He says he's thinking about quitting smoking, and needs some advice!" he grinned at her.

Hermes had to accept Charon's help, appreciating how his boyfriend managed to cut away some proper space for his clothes (even if he tried really hard to convince him to get back in bed to rest instead of staying up to re-organize his wardrobe). He noted just how little clothes he owned in comparison to Charon, and lightly thought to himself that maybe indeed, he should invest in some new things to wear soon.
Once they were done he had to put his foot down and insist his sick boyfriend would get back to his bed - but he did come with, of course, offering Charon to pick a movie himself to watch on his PC as they snuggled together. "-or if you don't want to watch a movie, we could-" He bit on his tongue, suddenly looking hesitant. "... talk? You know - about yesterday", he offered. Was it too soon? "I'd like to know how not to hurt you like that again. But we can also just watch a movie instead! It's all fine!", he added quickly.

Michela was trying really hard not to be swallowed whole by Hypnos' bed like the last time she had tried laying in it, and she seemed to have finally found an acceptable position for the movie night (Lucia had been left safe and sound with Carleen and Horknath, of course). She raised a brow at Hypnos when he suddenly mentioned Charon wanting her phone number. "... oh- sure, alright", she shrugged. "He should be warned that my main method of cigarette scare is to show people a live autopsy and demonstrate how gross their lungs will look if they keep inhaling tar. I mean, that worked with me." She paused. "How does he know I've stopped smoking? You've told him yourself?" It wasn't a reproach, she was just kind of dumbfounded that someone, anyone, would speak of her in their free time.
Be that someone her boyfriend or not.

Charon's expression softened by then. He had probably been tucked into bed by Hermes, so he was resting against his pillows when his boyfriend offered him to either have a movie or have that conversation. "No, you're right. Let's talk. We'll watch the movie once we're done." He looked at Hermes quietly for a bit, registering just how nervous he was about that conversation. "I got jealous, yesterday. That's why I reacted so harshly, so I'd like to apologize for that once more."

Hypnos chuckled. "Well, truth be told- I'm not sure, actually! I did definitely mention it to his boyfriend, though. He's complained to me one day about the fact that Charon is a big smoker, so I bragged about the fact that my girlfriend smokes smell fruity." He winked at Michela. "I doubt the harsh therapy might work on Charon, though. I mean- from what I know, our father kind of died because of his own smoking? I'm not sure. Mom never talks about it."

Hermes had turned fully to look at Charon by then, so that he could follow his signing better. Truth be told, he was way less agitated than he would have been if they'd have had this particular conversation the day before - they had already made up, after all, and they had just officialized that they'd be living together. His gaze softened when Charon apologized again to him. "And I want to apologize to you again for deliberately dismissing how you could feel about me taking on that particular job", he added then, before half-grinning. "Aw, Boss- jealous?" No lie. He did like the idea of being so coveted. But he tried not to joke, not right now when they were having a serious heart-to-heart. "I mean- I guess I understand. And I guess I had kind of understood it, from your reaction - even though I'd like for you to feel more secure about the fact that I've got eyes only for you." He grinned, gently poking at his chest. "Just ask any of my friends. I've done nothing but talking about you since we've started dating."

Michela snorted when Hypnos winked at her, and she briefly turned away to hide her slight fluster at the thought that he was bragging about her. It was true though, Hypnos seemed to enjoy her fruit-flavored smoke. He even tried to guess what it smelled like sometimes. She turned to face him again, though, her countenance softening a bit when he mentioned his father possibly dying because of some smoking-induced illness. "I'm sorry to hear that", she murmured. "It must have been hard for her, and all of you." She reflected, then. "I guess it has something to do with comfort, you know. If you come to associate a smell, or a taste, with someone you love, or a memory you're fond of, even if it's the worst smell or taste in the world, you'll want to have it around often. I'm sure everyone has a weird favorite smell that a lot of people hate instead."

Charon smiled fondly at Hermes. "I don't need any proof from you. I know you love me too. The reason why I felt jealous was because I suddenly realized that some people might have really enjoyed that show you gave them. That you'd be living in their fantasies at night." He made a face. "That thought drove me mad. I know I can't control your life, and I know you've had other lovers in the past- but I'd feel better knowing that no one gets to slip a bill in your underwear when I'm not there." He did let out a smile, but he was quite serious about it.

Hypnos' smile didn't falter. "Oh! I see exactly what you mean! It must be like that, yeah. One of the first things Charon told me about our dad when Than and I asked him to describe him was that he smelled of cigarettes all day long." He made a thoughtful pout. "Mh... But I think it'd be good if he stopped smoking, or turned to vaping as you do. I mean. He does have weak lungs too. Can't be too good on the long run." He turned towards Michela. "So- Are you alright with me giving him your number?"

Hermes expression briefly twisted into guilt. "Yeah- well. When you put it that way, I can see what you mean." He shot an apologetic smile up at Charon. "I think I wouldn't have reacted as defensively if you had explained it without being aggressive. Right then, your jealousy almost felt as if you didn't trust me to. Y'know. Be faithful to you, only because I was stripping in front of other people. Now I know that's not the case though, so... I mean, I can live fine without that job, it's really not the end of the world. I can always take a pole dancing class if I miss the exercises!" He paused briefly, suddenly realizing something. He held back a smirk as he looked up at Charon again. "When I'm not there? Oh, Charon. Now, whatever would you mean with that?", he asked playfully. Leaving room for his boyfriend to bring them back to a serious road, might he want that.

"As a doctor, I couldn't agree with you more", Michela nodded grimly. "Really not good on the long run. Besides, it feels nice to be depending on one less thing." She propped herself up a little more. "Sure, go ahead. I mean- it's your brother, not a complete stranger." She guessed, at least. "I'll ask him directly about what kind of road towards having cleaner lungs he'd prefer to follow." If a live autopsy of a heavy chain-smoker wouldn't scare him into letting go of cigarettes and look for another less damaging option, maybe she could try with psychological terrorism.

Charon rolled his eyes fondly at Hermes. "Alright, I'm not comfortable with the idea of anyone slipping bills into your underwear, period. Not one of my fantasies." But he did feel like Hermes would welcome a distraction into that serious talk. He could indulge him a bit. "You mentioned pole dancing, though? Now, I'm not saying I'm interested. Simply curious. Shoot, now I regret being unable to watch you perform live."

"Great!" Hypnos smiled, texted Charon back and then leaned against Michi for their movie night. "I actually think you'd like Charon. I should introduce you formally to everyone soon- not just my mother, I mean."

Hermes laughed. "Just joking, Boss- I think you've made it pretty clear that you'd like to be the only one who gets to put his hands anywhere close to my naked skin. I can get behind that - even though if you do have any fantasies about the two of us, I'll be open to listen", he winked. He couldn't help but grin, though, when Charon referred to the pole dancing. "Well. You don't have a pole in your fancy apartment, so - that's your loss", he answered, sticking his tongue out at him. "Even though..." His grin got filthier. "I've always had a very firm personal policy about not giving private shows - no lap dances, no total stripping. Too personal, no fun. But I just so happen to have brought some of the, hm. Nicest outfits back here with me, since they're all tailored, and I was meant to clean them anyway." He rested a hand over his boyfriend's chest. "What I'm saying is - I'd definitely ovverride my personal policies, for you." Once he got better, of course, and if he was interested at all.

Michela hummed, distractly making space for Hypnos at her side. She hesitantly wrapped her arm around him, finding out that she actually felt more comfortable like that. She relaxed. "I mean. I guess that at the very least style-wise we'd probably agree on many things, your brother and I", she agreed. "But. Sure, I mean - you've already met all my family, I guess I could as well meet yours."

"Now that's interesting," Charon signed with a small smile. "You need to wash these, then? I guess they could be dry by the time I'm not sick anymore?" He eventually paused, and looked fondly at Hermes. "I have but one last question. Will you miss this job?" He still felt kind of guilty that Hermes had to resign because of how he felt about it - especially because he hadn't been able to have that conversation with his boyfriend beforehand.

Hypnos hummed happily when Michela wrapped her arm around his shoulder. He felt warm and cosy now - thankfully, his girlfriend didn't seem to mind his need for cuddling.
"I'll plan something, anytime you feel like it. We could even have Lucia there, if you want- I'm sure my mom will love her. And you'll probably love Charon's style, yeah! It's a bit bling-bling to my tastes, but who am I to judge, right?"

"You guessed right", Hermes answered with a grin. His smile softened when Charon asked him that last question, though. "Nah. No, I don't think I will." He tilted his head after shifting his position slightly to be more comfortable. "It was more fun at the beginning, I think. I felt like it was an indirect way to stick it to the old man, you know? Because I was doing something nobody would be proud of but me." He chuckled, shaking his head. "By now it's nothing new anymore. Besides- when I texted my ex-boss, that I was quitting. You know what he answered to me?" He grinned. "That knowing me, if I had come to this decision, it meant that you were really worth it. And you are. You really are."

Michela lived a life constantly at the mercy of a cuddle monster, so she was definitely mostly unfazed by someone close to her wanting cuddles - especially in more relaxed moments like this one.
"Plan away, if you'd like. Just make sure to warn me at least a couple weeks earlier. As for Lucia- we'll see, just ask your family if they'd be alright with having a gremlin kid who pretends to be polite around for a whole dinner." She let out a small smile, though. "Too much bling? Big words from someone who designs jewelry for a living", she teased him. "He's the kind who likes wearing gold then?"

Charon smiled fondly at Hermes, and took his hand in his to kiss his knuckle, and then the palm. "I love you too. But I promise you, this is the only kind of job to which I might have put my veto on. I don't want you to feel forced to get my approval for everything that you do." Oh no, he didn't- He loved Hermes just like he was: free.

Hypnos chuckled, and assured Michela that yes, his family would love having Lucia around. Especially his grandparent, for some reason - they loved mischievous kids. "Oh yeah, Charon wears a ton of gold. He's got like, close to six bracelets? Per arm." He snorted. "He's got rings on most of his fingers too. He literally makes metallic noises when he walks! Though I have to admit it's partly my fault. He likes my designs!" Alright, Hypnos felt rather proud of himself to know that he had designed most of the jewelry that Charon wore at all times, just because he liked it.

Hermes bit his lip to hold back a smile (even though he never managed) when Charon kissed his hand - like the consummate gentleman he was. "Oh, you won't have to worry about that - you already know all the jobs I habitually take on by now", he reassured him with a grin. Delivery, mostly, whether it was pizza, mail or packages. "And I promise, that all the decisions I take are always out of free will. I think that if you had anything to say about what I do, you'd have said so already, and if I hadn't been okay with that, I would have walked out the door. Simple as that." He hadn't, though. That was what mattered.

Michela snorted. "Alright - that is a lot of gold. Isn't he afraid of being mugged in the streets?", she joked lightly. "I guess some people would call it ostentatious. But I don't judge, everyone makes their own fashion choices." She herself had been stuck in a long phase of 'not-like-other-girls' when she was a bit younger, and she still cringed thinking back of it. "So he wears a lot of your creations, then? That's nice. That way when I'll meet him I'll be seeing them from up close."

Charon smiled at Hermes. "Speaking of which- it's been six months that you haven't walked out of the door yet. I was supposed to cook a romantic dinner for tonight, but I'm afraid that responsibility falls upon your shoulders now." He was a little bummed to be sick on that day, actually - he had really planned something big, and should have been preparing that meal all day long in between sending e-mails for work.
But at least he still had Hermes by his side, so- it wasn't all that bad.

Hypnos perked up. "Oh, you want to see some of them? I could take you to the shop once, if you feel like it!" He felt glad to know that Michela was interested in his work, and not in the 'how much discount do you get off the shop as an employee' type.

"Aw, you sappy, sappy man", Hermes cooed at his boyfriend with a grin when he pitched the idea of a romantic dinner for their six-month cohabitation. beamed. "Oh, but this will be fun", he smirked, a mischevious glint in his eyes, poking at Charon a little bit. "Listen to my idea: I cook our romantic dinner with whatever dishes you had planned to make, and you stay all good on the couch to make sure I don't burn the whole kitchen down. What about it?"

"Sure." Michela tilted her head. "Are all the pieces you design still exposed in shops, even the ones you made years ago?" Hypnos was surely talented, if that was the case. Jewelry, even though she personally didn't really wear any, was a wonder to her. Unlike other things, it kind of stood the test of time - still being found in ancient tombs and whatnot. Humans sure had always appreciated shiny things.

Charon smiled fondly at Hermes. "I'll put on something warm if you allow me to stay in the kitchen and watch you cook. Do we have a deal?" And that way, he'd be able to react quickly if Hermes felt a little lost with the cooking. He didn't exactly write down his recipes either, so he felt like he should stay to give some advice to his boyfriend.

"Well- no you're right in fact, some of them were limited editions. But- we do have a kind of 'hall of fame' at work, should you want to give it a look." Hypnos grinned. "I'll give you a tour of the place, whenever you get a day off. I actually wonder which ones you might like!" And he'd take the opportunity to note her tastes down, so that he might design her some piece of jewelry one day.

Hermes hummed, thinking about it for a little bit. "Alright, deal. Get those warm clothes on you, then. But you're going to keep your butt on a chair unless it's absolutely necessary for you to help, alright?" He grinned, and leaned in to catch his lips in a gentle kiss. "I know you tend to overdo yourself, but not this time under my watch, you hear me?" He winked at him.

Michela threw him a little smile. "I'm actually fairly easy to read, as far as tastes in jewelry go. Either ancient and gothic or very subtle and unnoticeable. I don't do midways. As for free days, well. Rarely get those, but we'll see what we can do."

Charon chuckled. "Alright. I have to admit that it feels nice, to let you dote on me for a bit." He leaned in to kiss Hermes in turn, and then got out of bed to wrap himself into his nightgown to be warm once he'd be sat in the kitchen to look at Hermes cooking. In between a few coughs, he indicated to him how to cook that meal, and the result was definitely up to his expectations. He didn't hesitate to congratulate Hermes through the meal, and once they were back in bed to snuggle together for the rest of the evening, he raised his eyes towards his beloved, with a soft smile.
"I have a gift for you. For this six-month milestone."

"We'll see, then," Hypnos replied with a smile, before he grinned. "Oh, but we had a series to watch! We'd better do it before my drugs stop working and I fall back asleep!" He settled his head on Michela's shoulder, and sighed softly.

Hermes had actually quite a lot of fun cooking while following Charon's instructions (even though he most certainly pretended to be about to mess up some steps just to poke at his boyfriend, and also kept on asking for smooches everytime he did something right). All in all, it was a great evening, and a very nice dinner too - Hermes was quite proud of how it had come out in the end, and Charon's compliments did nothing but make him feel even happier with the result.
He raised up from his position when his boyfriend signed to him, and fondly rolled his eyes with a smile. "You and your absurd habit of wanting to shower me with gifts. Alright, I promise I am going to accept it this time, only because I have also cooked for you, and I'm deeming that plenty enough as a payback." He grinned at him, waiting.

Michela smiled to herself, and settled a little better against Hypnos. "Alright, then. Start it up, and we'll see who succumbs to the other's sleeping habits first."

Charon smiled fondly at Hermes, and raised his left arm to open the bracelet he had intended to gift him a long time ago. He had made some additions to it- there had been small charms attached to it already, but he had some thing engraved on them. Symbols, in fact. The logo of the app on which they met. A rising arrow, mimicking a stock market value. A pair of sneakers with a wing on them. The first letters of both their names. It was small, but if there was one thing he had learned about Hermes over the months, it was that his boyfriend only liked gifts that held a meaning. So he gave the bracelet some meaning, to try and gift it to him once more.

"Ha! We'll see about that!" Hypnos replied with a wide grin.
By the end of the second episode of their series, he had already closed his eyes, and was definitely talking incoherently if Michela tried to get a conversation going.

Hermes held his breath when Charon unhooked the bracelet - that same bracelet that had brought him to blurt out his adversion towards meaningless, pricey gifts months before to his well-meaning boyfriend. He couldn't help but smile his softest smile as he accepted it in his hand, cradling it and bringing it closer to his eyes to inspect the charms. He chuckled. "Oh - you've personalized it, huh. You're really sneaky, aren't you Boss", he commented lowly.
Well. that bracelet had certainly seen a lot of them. Many of their dates, many of their lazy indoor evenings, their passionate nights. The party they'd gone to together. Their first fight. The moment they'd made up. He finally tied the bracelet around his wrist, where it had been meant to be since the start. "Thank you. I love it - and I mean it. You really chose the right moment for this", he added, smiling at him.

Michela was actually quite taken by the series in the end, and - of course - she wasn't feeling sleepy in the least. She did feel Hypnos slowly fall asleep on her shoulder, and answer with babblered nonsense to her observations. She chuckled, and instinctively reached up to pet his fluffy hair. "Do you mind if I keep watching for another bit? I'll keep the volume down", she promised.

Charon smiled back at Hermes, and leaned in to peck his lips. "I promise you I won't shower you in expensive gifts like this one too often. By now I've understood that you're far more comfortable with me treating you with good food."

Hypnos made a vaguely positive noise as a reply to Michela's question. "You can watch all you want Michi, 'm not moving." He sighed softly and let out a sleepy and happy smile. "I love you. Thanks for being comfy."

Hermes happily let Charon kiss him, and leaned in to double on that sweet peck if it was too brief for his tastes. "Can you blame me? Your meat pies are the best thing I've ever had in my whole life. Well, I mean - except you, of course, but well. We know that", he added cheekily, grinning at him. "I do like when you spontaneusly do something that you think will make me happy, yes. Like cook me some dinner, or send me a cute message in the middle of the day. I enjoy that a lot."

Michela felt herself flush. That 'I love you' had sounded so effortless, so cute and nice that she really didn't know how she was supposed to react to that. "I'm- you're welcome", she blurted out, embarrassed. "I'm. Love you too", she added, feeling her face boil over.
Oh, God. When had she become so soft and uncool?

Charon smiled fondly at Hermes. "I'm glad you do." He caressed Hermes' cheek, and definitely leaned in for another kiss before he finally settled quietly in bed with him, to spend some quiet time with his boyfriend.

Hypnos' lips curled into a soft grin, and he fell asleep soon afterwards against Michela. Who probably got her first text from Charon while watching her episode with her boyfriend asleep on her shoulder.
After the initial polite exchange 'Hello, this is Charon, Hypnos' brother', Charon had moved on to the main topic right away.
"So, I trade pictures of baby Hypnos for some piece of advice to stop smoking : ) Would you be interested in helping me out?"

Hermes had settled down close to Charon, deciding to just text with his friends a bit and browsing the internet and his social media accounts.
Where he immediately changed all the relationship status with 'In a Relationship', because it seemed the right moment to do so. But he was content to bask in his boyfriend's presence even if they were not talking anyway.

Michela hadn't expected for Charon to message her so soon - but it was fine with her, it wasn't as if she had much to do aside from following the episode she was watching and acting as an impromptu pillow for her boyfriend. She greeted him back, of course, introducing herself, she raised a brow at that... bizarre offer. After seeing pictures of Charon, she didn't expect for him to put little smiley faces in his messages.
Well. Who was she to judge someone from his cover, really. She threw a glance at the sleeping Hypnos sprawled over her side, cheek squished on her shoulder. 
Cute.
"Well. You've got yourself a deal. So, let's take it from the top right away - why do you want to quit smoking?" She needed to know if she was to find the right starting point.

Charon got a notification at some point of the fact that Hermes was changing his relationship status. He smiled to himself, and gently kissed his cheek then.

But he also allowed his boyfriend to have some space for the night, and besides, he was busy texting Michela as well on his side. "My boyfriend complained about the smell and learned today that my smoking might have brought me twice to the hospital already."