The Path to Victory

Chapter 20


Poseidon did not realize he had fallen asleep from his endeavor until he awoke. Blinking, he looked around, realizing he and his brother had slept for who knew how long on the floor where they had been making love.

Hades remained on his chest, very still and very silent, only stirring when Poseidon began to move. Smiling, the younger god kissed his brother’s forehead and delighted in the way Hades’ brow screwed up in a confused frown, waking from his deep sleep.

Feeling a hand caressing his cheek, the god of the dead looked up at his brother’s smiling visage and smiled back. At first both gods merely enjoyed one another’s company, Poseidon stroking Hades’ hair whilst Hades nuzzled against Poseidon’s chest. Finally, Poseidon thought to begin a conversation, but he was interrupted by his brother, as though desperate to keep him from speaking.

“Let us do it again.”

“Again?” Poseidon softly exclaimed in amusement. “So soon?”

“Of course,” Hades replied with a sweet smile. “We are rested and able, are we not?”

“Yes, I suppose we are… but perhaps this time we should make love in your bedchamber, where it is comfortable?”

Hades scowled only for a brief moment at the thought of having to rise, but his brother’s proposition made sense, so he struggled to sit up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The hot, humid air and his close proximity to Poseidon had kept him from getting cold during his sleep, but the bed was definitely a much more comfortable place for the activities they had in mind.

Hades was the first to stand and offered his brother a hand, which Poseidon accepted with an amused chuckle. The sea god caught Hades in a choking embrace once they were both on their feet, and more or less chased him into the adjoining bedchamber, where they both made Hades’ new bed their primary target.

“There is no escaping me now!” Poseidon bellowed jovially as he wrestled his brother against the mattress and raked his hands over Hades’ naked sides in an attempt to tickle him into submission.

“No fair, brother!” Hades piped in objection, struggling but laughing all the same. “How can I resist when you’re so much bigger than I?”

Poseidon laughed and drove his face into the crook of Hades’ neck, nipping playfully and causing another bout of laughter from his brother. Hades’ laugh was a lovely sound, soft as velvet.

“I am not that much bigger,” Poseidon objected. “Look, we are nearly the same size!” And he indicated his phallus, laying it parallel to Hades’ own. The god of the dead laughed, nuzzling his brother’s chest a second time.

“Do you enjoy pouring such affection upon me?” Poseidon mused aloud.

“Of course,” Hades replied, stealing a kiss as the faces of the two gods drifted close enough. “How could anyone not adore you?”

“I would not presume so much,” Poseidon said with a chuckle, and he began to kiss down Hades’ neck, ending with a kiss against each nipple, making them hard almost instantly.

“Mmn,” Hades moaned softly, eyes closed in satisfaction. “Please… continue… it feels so good…”

Smiling, Poseidon obliged the elder god. He loved nothing more than to explore every detail of his brother’s body, indulge every contour, every crevice… He continued to kiss downward, following a beautifully curving line that was Hades’ hip, until he reached his loins. As though awaking a separate entity, Poseidon kissed his brother’s phallus and it began to grow hard.

Hades jolted at the sensation of a warm, wet tongue against his sensitive organ and gripped the sheets beneath him to keep himself from arching off the bed.

“Do you… ahh… intend to make love to me… with your lips again, brother?” Hades asked shakily as the other continued to lap at his stiffening flesh while simultaneously kneading his parted thighs.

An affirmative murmur was that Poseidon gave in reply, his tongue and lips otherwise occupied. It excited him to watch and feel Hades writhing in uncontrolled bouts of pleasure that were entirely his doing, and the mischievous side of him could not help but want to tease his poor brother. Poseidon withdrew his lips from Hades’ throbbing member but continued to hold him down by the hips, chuckling quietly at his brother’s blind attempts to restore the connection between phallus and mouth.

“You are a greedy little thing, Hades,” the sea god remarked playfully. “If you believe I will let you finish so soon, you are mistaken.”

“You started something… now finish it…” Hades complained, hands out to grasp Poseidon’s hair and force his head back down where Hades wanted it. “You cannot leave me like this… I beg you…!”

He felt another teasing swipe of a tongue against the tip of his member, but the velvety feeling of Poseidon’s lips wrapped tightly around him did not return. A thought suddenly occurred in the elder god’s head of Zeus trying to coerce Hera into performing this particular service on him, and he burst out laughing despite the frustrating situation.

“I’m glad you find amusement in your own plight, Hades,” Poseidon said, surprised but good-natured.

“Do you… Do you believe that Hera obliges our dear brother in this fashion?” Hades asked, laughter still bubbling from his throat.

Poseidon paused, taken aback by the mental image Hades had put into his brain. He laughed as well. “It is very likely that he demands it. I somehow get the feeling he would not think to return the favor to her.”

Hades’ laughter increased at the suggestion, and he became ticklish again as his brother leaned down to kiss his stomach. Poseidon grinned at his fellow god’s response and crept forward, his kiss falling this time on parted lips.

“I want to take you this time,” Hades said quietly, hand against the other god’s cheek.

Poseidon leant into the touch. “If you wish it,” he replied.

Hades smiled. “I do. Greatly.”

Gently pushing Poseidon on his side, the god of the dead turned and climbed into his brother so that the younger god was now straddled by the waist. Poseidon’s erection, now quite hard, lay pressed against Hades’ backside, as though holding the elder god still. Reaching behind himself, Hades closed his fingers around the straining organ, feeling it throb and watching the way his brother responded to the sensation.

“Ohhh…” Poseidon moaned softly. One of his hands touched Hades’ knee, traveling forward, exploring his brother’s loins until it reached a similarly erect organ. Hades tilted his head back, eyes closed as the savored the pleasure, his phallus held whilst his brother’s leant against him.

Hades took two fingers into his mouth, wetting them, and reached behind himself once more, this time paying the hard organ no attention. Poseidon would have complained if his brother’s fingers did not proceed to enter between his legs. He gave a small gasp as he was entered.

Hades smiled. “Do you want me to continue?”

Breath coming harder, Poseidon nodded.

“Let me know if you’re hurting, brother,” Hades added, allowing his fingers to delve deeper into the sea god’s body, stretching him. He was just about to voice his regret over not having any oil present to use as a lubricant, when a shudder passed through Poseidon’s form and his passage momentarily tightened around Hades’ digits.

The older god was about to ask his brother if something was amiss when he felt something peculiar happen inside Poseidon’s body. A very distinct dampness was now present, and Hades soon found out how much easier it was to move his fingers in and out of his brother’s snug channel.

“How did you do that?” Hades asked incredulously, withdrawing his hand, as he figured Poseidon required no further preparation. The fingers he had had inside his brother were far wetter now than when he inserted them.

“Water, no matter how small an amount, bends to my will,” Poseidon replied, smiling. “That includes the water in me. It shall make it less painful for me, and hopefully more pleasurable for us both.” He reached for his brother, pulling Hades down on top of himself, to lie between his open thighs. Poseidon had absolutely no trouble coping with the smaller Olympian’s full weight, and he suspected that the experience would leave Hades nearly as spent as their previous romp out in the throne room.

The god of the Underworld reached in between their bodies and steered his stiff, pulsating erection into his lover’s willing body, and they both gasped when the intimate physical connection between them was established.

“You feel so good against me…” Hades moaned gently. One of Poseidon’s hands joined his own.

“I feel quite the same way,” the younger god replied, smiling. “Perhaps you should take me more often…”

Hades smiled back and placed a hand over his brother’s stomach. This way, as he moved inside Poseidon, he could feel every tremor of pleasure in the younger god’s body. It was not presently enough for Hades to hear and see the arousal his brother expressed. Feeling it pass through Poseidon in waves as he continued to thrust brought pleasure in the elder god as well.

Keening his satisfaction, Poseidon took the hand around his and brought it to his lips, kissing and closing his mouth over the fingertips. He suckled gently for a moment before bringing his brother’s hand over his chest, rubbing it against two dark buds which promptly hardened beneath Hades’ palm.

Several minutes later, Poseidon was begging his brother to increase his pace, panting hard as he spoke. Hades did not hesitate to obey his wishes and thrust faster and harder. Lying on top of Poseidon belly to belly allowed Hades to feel his brother’s organ twitch against his abdomen, and the following moment the space between them was filled by a hot, creamy substance signaling the younger god’s release.

Pleased to know that his brother had already reached climax, Hades could finally allow himself to focus on his own pleasure and he soon followed the sea god, his seed joining the warm, sticky wetness already present within Poseidon’s body.

Poseidon waited patiently while the now spent Hades recovered from his climax, stroking and caressing his sweat-slick body as Hades’ member shrunk and softened still within his hold. He was very happy to provide his brother with such a blissful experience, and the love he felt for the other only worked to enhance it further.

A shiver passed through Hades’ still form, and immediately Poseidon’s arms wrapped around him, interpreting the physical response as a reaction to cold.

“You haven’t fallen asleep yet, have you, brother?” the younger god asked when Hades made no attempt to rise or get off of him.

“I haven’t… I was merely thinking.”

“What were you thinking of?”

Hades shifted slightly, so that he was able to raise his head and gaze up toward the other. “This. All of this. I cannot stay with you anymore. You must head back to Olympus while I remain here.”

“Oh, Hades…” Poseidon had known that his brother’s gloomy thoughts would eventually return, but he had hoped it would take another while. “Must you dwell on it now? Why not try to forget about it and enjoy the moment with me, here and now?”

“Because eventually you will have to leave, and this moment will end.” Bitterness had crept back into Hades’ voice, and not a trace was left of the jovial god screaming in laughter as he was tickled by his brother. “And I will be all alone.”

“You won’t be alone, Hades. I will still be here, and we will still be able to see each other. Perhaps not as often as we would like, but you will always be in my thoughts.”

Hades’ only response to that was a nothing short of contemptuous snort. “How often would that be? Once a year? Once every two years? Zeus… Zeus will probably make sure that you don’t spend too much time with me. He cannot stand your loving me, Poseidon. You know this.”

Poseidon wanted to deny what his brother just said, but he couldn’t, because he knew it was true. Once again he cursed his cowardice for not asking Hades to become his official consort. With that kind of bond between them, Zeus had not been able to send Hades to rule the Underworld without Poseidon’s consent, and this whole miserable situation could have been avoided.

“Zeus was foolish not to treat you better…” the sea god murmured, both his hands stroking different parts of Hades’ body. “He was foolish not to love you, and make you his consort…”

Hades was still inside Poseidon, and as he remained silent, he withdrew from the younger god. That final physical separation made his sadness and frustration finally well up beyond control, and he gave a sudden sob at the broken connection, resting his forehead against Poseidon’s chest as though to hide his grief.

“Hades,” Poseidon addressed him, placing hands over his brother in an effort to provide comfort. “Hades, please do not cry, dear brother…”

The god of the dead managed to regain control just as quickly as he had lost it, and his sobs were silenced within seconds. Wiping his eyes, he cleared his throat and dismounted from his brother.

“I am alright,” he said, though obviously Poseidon did not believe him. “I was overwhelmed by our lovemaking.” He avoided the clear look of doubt on his fellow god’s face and crept to a position next to his brother, easing himself under the covers.

“I am tired now,” he stated, his voice cold once more. “I wish to sleep.”

Sighing quietly, Poseidon complied with his brother’s wishes, joining him beneath the sheets. “Of course. It has been a long day and trying day, brother. In truth I could afford some rest myself.”

As Hades turned on his side, Poseidon gathered him in his arms from behind, placing a kiss on his bare shoulder. They said nothing as they lay there, passing on into sleep, sharing one another’s comforting touch. Hades was grateful that his back was turned to his brother however, as it spared them the discomfort of discussing the grieved look on the face of the new God of the Underworld.

*

Poseidon awoke first, freeing himself from his sleeping brother’s hold and rising to get dressed. He discovered that he was ravenously hungry and wondered what the Underworld had to provide as far as food. The dead hardly required any sustenance, and the thought of eating anything that came out of the murky water of the river Styx made Poseidon’s empty stomach turn, despite his love for all marine creatures.

The sea god, now fully clothed, got back into bed with his brother, leaning over Hades and, once he had managed to rouse him, planning to ask him if he knew of anything eatable in his domain.

Hades stirred from his deep sleep when he felt Poseidon’s lips against his temple. For the briefest of moments he expected to find himself back at the fortress after a night spent with his brother, but the lack of natural light in this place quickly shredded the illusion. He was down in the Underworld, which was now his new home.

“Hades…” Poseidon whispered and began to pull back the sheets that covered the older god. “Have you slept well?”

Hades appeared to be staring off in space, rather than pay his brother any attention, and he refused to look Poseidon’s way even as he rose from bed. “As well as can be expected,” he finally answered, still not looking at his fellow god.

“Are you hungry?” Poseidon asked, hopeful that food might lift his brother’s spirits. “Perhaps we could find some breakfast.”

“I’m not hungry,” Hades admitted, getting dressed and walking out of the bedchamber and into the throne room. “Perhaps I will eat later.”

Poseidon followed his brother out of the living quarters, watching him sit down in his throne. The misery clear in the elder god’s eyes was painful to look upon, and the younger Olympian was desperate to make his brother smile again.

“Your hair needs untangling,” he observed aloud. “Would you like me to brush it for you?”

Hades finally looked at his brother and a sad, calm smile graced his expression. “Do as you will.”

Several minutes later, Poseidon had brushed the tangles out of his brother’s long hair, and feeling the coarse nature of it, once again missed how much softer it had felt before the Kraken had sapped such strength from Hades. Nonetheless, the god of the sea ran his fingers through the long locks.

“Well…?” Hades asked, almost sounding as though he had forced himself to take interest. “How is it?”

“Beautiful, as always,” Poseidon answered, kissing his brother on the head. He would have continued to compliment his brother had Charon not come ambling into the throne room, his bones rattling as he ran.

“Forgive me, master,” he gurgled out, kneeling at Hades’ feet. “I bring a message from Zeus. He is angry with Poseidon.”

The seconds following the announcement Poseidon felt confused rather than upset. What possible reason could Zeus have to be angry with him? He had been gone less than a day, and he could not fathom that even Zeus would begrudge Hades the company of an escort during his first trip to the Underworld.

“Do you know the reason for my brother’s displeasure?” Poseidon asked the wretch, half-expecting Charon to refuse to answer him, as he only seemed to heed Hades’ words.

“No, I do not,” Charon said. “I said I would bring the message to you and let you know that you are expected on Olympus as soon as possible. If I may say so… Zeus sounded very insistent.”

It was obvious to them both that even though Charon feared Hades, and Poseidon as well, he feared the lightning god more, and Poseidon did not want Zeus’ anger directed on anyone else for something he supposedly had done.

“Thank you for bringing us the message,” Hades said, hand over his eyes as he slumped in his throne. “You can go now.”

Charon hesitated for only a second before obeying his master’s order, leaving the two gods by themselves again. He had done what was demanded of him; what Zeus’ brothers did now was no business of his, and not something he could influence anyway.

“You should go,” Hades said immediately. “I knew this might happen. Zeus is already angry with you simply for accompanying me here.”

“Oh, Hades…” Poseidon reasoned gently, placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder, but Hades only frowned deeper.

“Enough,” he countered. “Nothing now will be solved with sympathy.”

“But brother…” the younger god argued, walking in front of his brother and kneeling before him, “Please do not let me leave knowing you are so unhappy.”

“What of it?” Hades asked, his eyes as frigid as his tone. “This is where I belong. And if I am to be unhappy, that is my business, in my realm. You have no say in a matter where you are not lord.”

Poseidon felt defeated at those words, and all he could do was place his hands against his brother’s face, cupping his jaw. “I shall always come when you ask of me, brother. Please do not forget that.”

A flicker of emotion finally showed in Hades’ eyes, but whether it was pity or sadness, Poseidon was not certain.

“You will move on eventually. You may as well let go now. It will be less painful the sooner you do.”

“What?” Poseidon said, utterly perplexed. “Hades, I intend to do no such thing.”

“You will have to,” the elder god replied plainly. “You do not belong here, and I do not belong with you in your seas. My throne in Olympus will remain empty, for when will I have the time to occupy it?”

He held back a sigh, his stare hard and unfeeling, and reached up and took Poseidon’s hands away from his face. “There can be no alternative. I will not see you again.”

Poseidon felt as if someone had struck him in the stomach with a sledgehammer. Was Hades truly saying that they could not see each other again? His brother could not be serious! They were lovers, and on top of everything they were family, and what Hades was suggesting was simply preposterous.

“Of course we will see each other again! You don’t know what you’re saying, Hades!”

The older god glared up at his brother, wishing Poseidon would just leave him alone to dwell on in his misery.

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” the other repeated, his tone firm and frankly quite condescending, which made Hades even angrier.

“I know exactly what I’m saying,” he hissed back, rising from his seat to face Poseidon. “You say you love me, but what is your love worth, if you don’t even respect me enough to believe I can make my own decisions or know what I want. Go, brother. Charon will escort you out of my domain.”

From Hades’ point of view it was the capital form of nonchalance not to offer to escort his brother himself, and he demonstrably turned his back on Poseidon, hoping that the signals he sent out were obvious enough to get reach in even through Poseidon’s thick skull. Something that felt like eons passed, and finally a heavy sigh sounded from the god of the seas, and was quickly followed by footsteps leading out of Hades’ throne room.

“I shall leave you be,” Poseidon stated, his voice low. Hades could not help but wonder at the sadness behind it. “But know this, my brother. I love you, more than you know. And I always shall.”

Hades did not look back at his fellow god, and he refused to watch him leave, wandering down the passageways, guided by Charon, until the sea god arrived at the River Styx, standing within the current and dissolving into its waters in search of Zeus. Hades felt and heard the departure as though he had accompanied Poseidon himself. He could feel the departure of a soul from his realm, just as he could feel it beside him in his bed only a short time ago.

Never before had Hades felt so cold.

The very moment he knew Poseidon was gone Hades slumped into his ebony throne. His body felt as weak and shattered as the creature of amber which failed to defeat Cronos, washed up on the shore like a pathetic thing. He was wracked by sobs violent enough that he could barely breathe, gasping for air as he wept. His heart felt broken and no one was there to dry his tears and hold him, to tell him everything would be alright.


TBC...