Hawk’s fingers dug deeply into the island countertop, the satisfying crack of granite eliciting another audible sigh. His other hand combed through his bright red hair, gripping it tightly as his chest heaved, his heart pounding. He bit his lip and tilted his head back, his breathing ragged. Hero told him not to touch and he would obey. But goddammit if he wasn’t making it difficult.

Hero’s soft chuckle vibrated through his cock, making him inhale sharply. 

“You are…absolutely terrible…Hero Leon,” he moaned, his head lolling forward to look down into those gorgeous ruby red eyes, Hero’s expert tongue sliding its way over and around as he grinned seductively. 

“I could stop,” he said in a low, breathy voice, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

“No the fuck you will not, sir,” Hawk responded. 

“I thought not.” Hero took him completely into his mouth and Hawk groaned, whimpering as his head fell back. Hero began to move faster, his fingers and hands teasing and torturing him to the point of absolute insanity. He’d been at this for twenty minutes, bringing Hawk to the brink and then backing off, over and over again. It was getting to the point where Hawk’s thighs were beginning to shake and he was almost begging for Hero to let him cum.

Hero smiled up at him. “Is that really what you want? To bust in my mouth and watch me swallow?”

“Please,” Hawk panted. “God, please take it all.”

Pressing his fingers into Hawk’s thighs, Hero increased his pace, deep throating him as much as he dared, careful not to hit his gag reflex, his tongue flicking and dipping around Hawk’s tip before he added his hand back in. That was all it took to finally get Hawk to cross the line.

“Oh, shit,” he breathed, both hands now clutching the counter for dear life, his moans gaining in volume as the pressure mounted. He could feel the release coming, knew that it was going to make his mind spin but he wanted it. “Baby, I’m cumming…”

Hero encouraged him, opening his mouth and leaving just the tip of his tongue against the hood as Hawk finally broke through with a soft cry and a moan, spilling into Hero’s waiting mouth, coating his tongue, some of it landing on his chin and cheek, the sight itself just as erotic as the blow job he hadn’t expected this early in the morning. 

When the last drop had finally succeeded in hitting the back of Hero’s throat, he swallowed, licking his lips and wiping what remained from his face, cleaning his fingers as he got to his feet. He wrapped his arms around his husband’s neck as Hawk worked on trying to refocus his vision and regain the feeling in his legs, chuckling as one arm fell heavily around his waist.

“Are you gonna live?” Hero grinned.

Hawk let out a long, audible sigh, his head falling onto Hero’s shoulder as his other hand tucked himself back in his sweats. “If I don’t, make sure you put ‘death by blow job’ on my stone. I’ll be a fucking legend.”

Hero laughed, kissing his neck, one hand running through Hawk’s messy hair. It had been a while since he’d treated Hawk to such an experience and he was incredibly satisfied with the results. With one final twitch, Hawk sat up, taking Hero’s face in his hands with a grin before planting a firm kiss on his lips.

“What a way to start the day,” he murmured. “Makes me want to cancel all our appointments and take you back to bed.”

Hero’s eyebrow twitched. “All but one. I am not about to turn down an all day marathon.” 

“And all night,” Hawk said, pulling him closer. “And maybe another all day, and so on…and so on…and so on…” his voice trailed away as his tongue and mouth found purchase on Hero’s neck. “I think I deserve that much for being such a good boy.”

Hero tilted his head back, his eyelids fluttering closed as he inhaled slowly. “Mm, that does sound nice,” he said.

“What’s the one we keep?” His tongue traced a hot trail up to Hero’s ear, taking it gently between his teeth.

“Julian.” The name came out slow and drowsy as Hero began to fall under the spell of Hawk’s erotic touch.

Hawk hummed against his flesh, the pitch rising as he sat up. “Oh shit, he’s supposed to be here soon, isn’t he?”

Hero sighed, his hands slipping down Hawk’s bare chest as he felt himself go soft. “Yeah, he is.” He took a step back, furrowing his brow. “Are you sure you want him to do this for us? You know where his head is just as much as I do.”

Hawk nodded. “He’s the best hunter in the entirety of the Veil, him and his team. I don’t trust anyone else to do this job. I can’t, not with what’s on the line. Besides, it isn’t like he’s not doing anything I wouldn’t do if I were in his shoes.”

“I just wish more people believed him.” Hero walked around the island to the coffee machine, setting it up to make a full pot. He and Hawk weren’t the only ones who were going to need plenty of coffee for this meeting. “Especially his own father,” he muttered, keeping his eyes focused on the machine.

He could immediately sense the tension in Hawk through his waves; he didn’t need to turn to see the darkness that came over his smooth, forever-young features. Hawk said nothing as he reached for three coffee cups, one being set aside for Julian, and leaned against the counter with his arms folded across his bare chest. Hero knew bringing up Havik was a touchy subject, especially after all their son had put them through in the last few years…after Toji’s disappearance. 

“Sorry,” he said softly. Hawk just shook his head. 

“Don’t be,” he said, his low voice smooth and even. “You’re right, Havik should at least make an attempt to understand what Julian is going through. It pisses me off that he straight up refuses to.” He shook his head, gripping his arms. “He refuses to acknowledge a lot of things,” he added coldly. 

Hero nodded, watching as the coffee stream poured into the pot. Not once in five years had their son ever apologized or taken responsibility for what happened with Toji. If anything, he had become more dismissive, even cold and indifferent regarding the event and all that Toji had endured beforehand. Toji had become someone they didn’t know by the time it was all over, half-crazed from the years spent away from Natsu and the brutal torture and training he had endured in order to become the Devil God. 

Havik had subjected his brother to the horrors of Hell and expected Toji would continue to follow his plan without question. Imagine his surprise when Toji had enough and took matters into his own hands. The Reconstruction of the Realms was his response to Havik’s manipulations and his fathers’ willing participation in all of it. As far as Hawk and Hero were concerned, what Toji and Natsu had done, they all deserved.

Havik had successfully turned Toji Kanaki into the most feared creature in the universe, one who had since been vilified, and when Hawk and Hero confronted him before they left for two years, all Havik had said was, “He made his own choices.” The most he ever admitted was to his miscalculation of Toji’s temper and devotion to Natsu. Outside of that, the rest was not his problem to worry about.

Hawk sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Anyway,” he muttered, moving quickly away from the topic of their youngest child before he allowed his anger to build. “I still believe Julian has it right and that Ren is alive. If they are soulmates like he says they are, he’d be in agony right now if he wasn’t.”

“I just wish we could help him out more in the search,” Hero said.

“Unfortunately, we promised him we’d stay out of it, especially right now.”

“Yeah, I know.” Hero leaned his weight on one foot and put his hand on the back of his neck. “I wish we didn’t have to go through all of this at all. Just admit the seat is mine and move on.”

“We need to prove it first,” Hawk said firmly. “And for that, we need the box.”

Hero looked up at him. “You still believe whatever is in there is the key to my legitimacy?”

Hawk nodded. “If what your dad gave me is an accurate translation, I know it is. Mom kept a lot of secrets, and this was by far her biggest. We find it, the rest of Gods Hall will have no cause to contest it.”

The coffee machine hissed, the strong smell of the fresh brew filling the large kitchen. Hero left it where it was as they headed out and to the stairs that led to their bedroom.

“I don’t know,” Hero said, shaking his head as he opened the double doors. “Several gods and Devil Kings have been vying for that spot for millennia. Having a newbie make a claim must come off as laughable.”

Hawk shrugged, walking over to the large walk in closet and pulling out a clean tee shirt and jeans. Hero was on the other side of the closet doing the same. When he pulled his shirt off to change it, Hawk had to fight himself not to wince. 

The wound wasn’t healing right…

“We need to change the bandage,” he muttered.

Hero said nothing. He opened one of the built-in drawers and handed Hawk what he needed, walking out with his clothes slung over his shoulder as he made his way into the bathroom. 

“I have to go to Korso in a few days,” he finally said, sitting on the edge of the sink counter so Hawk could tend to his dressing.

“We’re going together,” Hawk said, carefully removing the wrap that wound its way around Hero’s ribs and shoulder before taking the bandage off. He tossed both bloody items in the trash, turning on the hot water before running a cloth under it. 

“Hawk…”

“Don’t start,” he said. “The last time you went somewhere by yourself, you came back with a hole in your back.” I should have been there with you… He dabbed gently at the wound, gulping as pus and blood oozed out, along with a mysterious silvery substance that likely came from the blade that had caused the damage in the first place. Four months and it was still leaking out. “I wish I could have killed the bastard that did this.”

“I know,” Hero said softly, sending a wave to sooth Hawk’s agitation over the situation, turning his head to look back at him to give a tiny smile. Hawk put one hand on the top of Hero’s head and turned it back around. 

“Don’t move.”

Hero chuckled softly. “Yes, sir.”

Hawk smiled, continuing with the care. “I know Korso isn’t that dangerous but I’d feel better if I went with you.”

“I wasn’t planning on stopping you.”

“Good, because you would have failed.”

Hero rolled his eyes good-naturedly, wincing when Hawk dabbed at the wound with the cold antiseptic. “There’s been whisperings going on in Gods Hall that Lucifer might be making a play for the throne.” He felt Hawk’s hands falter slightly, tensing at just the mere mention of the High Devil King. Hero had to will himself to keep his own muscles relaxed so Hawk could perform his ministrations effectively. “Nox and a few other Devil Kings want to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“It fucking better not,” Hawk grumbled. “If there’s anyone we don’t need running the show, it’s him.”

“Nox is worried a war might break out over it.”

This time Hawk really did stop what he was doing. Hero glanced back at him, noting the tight set in his jaw. “So, it’s not just the archangels making threats,” he said.

Hero furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

Hawk sighed. “I might not participate in a lot of the politics that go on in that Hall, but I do talk to people. According to a few angels, not just Rik and Persi, there are some archangels who are threatening a war if a new High Divine isn’t chosen soon. There’s a lot of people wanting that seat, not just Odin, Lucifer, or even you. Hell, if Loki thought it was a benefit to him, he’d put his name in along with everyone else. The point is, this whole selection process could turn nasty in a hurry. Trust me, I would know.”

He touched the cloth with the antiseptic to Hero’s skin again, frowning when the muscle jumped as he winced. “If Nox can prevent a war with the Devil Kings and Lucifer, that would be great. I’m not up to dealing with another one of those.”

“I think that’s why he wants to meet up and talk. If Lucifer is serious about trying for the Throne, then war might break out. If you’re right about the archaaaaangels, Jesus, Hawk, that hurts!” Hero’s back arched and he tried to squirm away from the medicine Hawk was applying.

“It’s not meant to feel good on first contact, baby, you know that.”

Hero growled low in his throat. “Just…ouch.”

Hawk chuckled softly. “I’m almost done, quit whining.” He capped the medicine and reached for the bandage to put over the open wound. “I don’t know if I’m right about the archangels or not,” he said. “But if I am, and full-scale war breaks out over this, I can guaran-damn-tee you it’s going to last longer than the selection process itself.” He grabbed the new wrap and faced Hero, instructing him to lift his arm slightly so he could wind it around his chest and shoulder.

Hero kept his eyes on him. “A second Battle of the Veil is what you’re worried about, isn’t it?”

Hawk hesitated, focusing on the wrap. “Yeah, it is,” he finally said. “What Nox and I did was abhorrent and a lot of lives were lost over nothing. If I know Nox, and I do, he’s not going to want a repeat of that any more than I do. Not to mention, considering how everything’s bled into each other, it’ll happen here.”

He pinned the wrap in place and handed Hero his shirt, helping him to put it on. “I created this place to be safe. I desecrated it once before. I’ve worked too hard to fuck it up again.”

“It won’t happen,” Hero said, pulling Hawk to him, kissing him softly on his neck. Hawk’s shoulders relaxed and he rested the side of his face against Hero’s. “We’ll get through this selection, stop the war before it even happens, and…maybe…” he dipped his head, his fingers folding in on the countertop. “Finally take him down.”

Hawk smiled. “If that doesn’t boost your claim, I don’t know what will.”

-*-