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Nikos couldn't sleep.
Perhaps today's arena fight had shaken him up a little more than he had thought. He tossed and turned on his cloth throughout the night and occasionally stopped to look at the stars. He tried to distract himself with other thoughts, but it always looped back around to the arena.
He knew it was inevitable that there would be fights that were unfair or souls too kind sacrificing themselves instead of going down with a fight. He just hadn't expected it to be so soon.
It itched at him. It itched at him far too much.
He needed to forget his troubles with a drink and pleasant company, and he was lucky there was a man nearby who equally enjoyed both of those. With a grunt, he lifted himself onto his feet and grabbed a few amphorae and kylikes from his stash.
It was quite lucky he didn't have to walk far.
When he arrived at Scott's house, he made no effort to knock and barged straight in. "Oh, Pretty One!" He called out-it was also lucky they were the only two people in hearing distance on the mountain-as he walked around, stumbling upon Scott who had been crafting something.
"Nikos!" He greeted him with a sly grin, floofy cloud hair turning slightly orange and pink at the edges. His eyes instantly locked onto the amphorae and he could practically see how quickly the man figured out his plan. Scott didn't get nearly enough credit-underneath all of his sparkle, he was smart.
Nikos was also used to people underestimating him in the brain department. Sure, he couldn't recite scholarly texts on command or do complex math problems in an instant, but he (usually) knew what he wanted and how to get it.
"I figured a few drinks would be nice after the craziness of today, Pretty One." He started to set things out on the nearby table, feeling Scott practically breathe down his neck as he eagerly watched.
"It's been so long since I've had even a bit of wine," Scott admitted when Nikos shot him a raised eyebrow. Nikos accepted the answer, even though he had a feeling Scott had the ulterior motive of massaging his arms.
It wasn't like he was going to push him away, after all.
When everything was set up, the two sat neatly at the table and Nikos poured wine into their kylikes. Scott quickly reached over as soon as his was filled, preparing to take a few sips. Nikos, however, blocked the object from touching his mouth by laying a finger on Scott's lips. "Not so fast, Pretty One." Nikos couldn't help but smile as the faint pinkness on the other man's hair became a little less subtle. He had only seen the color when Scott seemed to be enjoying things, so he could only assume it was a good sign. "It would be boring to just drink this wine. We pick it up, drink it, laugh a little and then it's all gone?" He shook his head. "No. Boring. Let's have fun. Let's make it a challenge."
"Alright…" Scott agreed carefully as soon as Nikos' finger dropped from his mouth. "Well, what kind of game?"
"The King’s Game. Let's change it a little, however, since it's just the two of us. We switch being king each time. If you don't want to do the command the other gives, you drink some wine." Scott traced a finger on the rim of his kylix.
"Hmm…you know what? That does sound fun."
"You go first."
"The King commands you to drink a sip of wine."
"Cheater. That's not allowed." Nikos frowned. Scott giggled.
"I know, I know. I just wanted to say it. But hm…the King commands you to tell me your favorite color."
"Starting easy?"
"Does the Champion of Zeus not have a favorite color?" Scott teased and Nikos laughed.
"I do, I do! Gray." Scott squinted.
"Gray?"
"What? There's nothing wrong with having gray as my favorite color." Nikos frowned.
"I just didn't expect it. I'd guess yellow or orange."
"What, like lightning?" He laughed a little too hard. "That's not all I am, you know."
"But you have to admit it's the main thing everyone here knows you for," Scott pointed out. Probably for the best. Still, it was a grim reminder of how none of them were meant to know each other. They were meant to be on opposite sides-their own sides.
"And that's why we're here-just the two of us. To get to know each other more." Nikos swirled the wine in the kylix with his hands. It only spilled a few drops.
"Yes. It's important to strengthen our alliance. Now, your turn."
"The King commands you…" Nikos nearly went for something much more complicated to up the stakes, but decided on something easier. They had only just started the game, after all, and the night was still young. He had no plans to leave anytime soon. "…to do a cartwheel."
"Really?" Scott stood up. "That's easy! I've done harder stunts in front of a bigger audience."
"Then you'll have no problem doing it, hm? Unless you want to be the first one drunk." Nikos smiled. Scott matched his grin.
"Fair enough." He reached his hands up before doing a cartwheel across his hard floor, landing perfectly without a single stumble. To indulge him, Nikos clapped and cheered. Scott did a bunch of bows before sitting back in his seat.
They went back and forth like that for a while, their challenges getting harder and harder until they became less commands and more demands.
"Who's the first person you kissed?" Nikos shot at him. Scott immediately drank some wine.
"How long did it take you to get those muscles?" Scott shot back. Nikos also immediately took a drink of wine.
"What was your first job?"
"How's your family doing?"
"What's your opinion on the game?"
"Do you have any children?"
"How did you die?"
"How did you die?"
Drink after drink after drink, they kept going with non-answers until their cheeks became slightly flushed. At some points, Nikos started to purposefully not answer questions in order to drink more and he had a feeling Scott had started to do the same. Nikos reached down to refill their kylikes, they had run out.
"What's the rules if we run out of wine?" Nikos sheepishly asked Scott. The other man shrugged.
"We can only tell the truth, then." He sighed and leaned back in his chair, cloud hair falling perfectly over his shoulders. "Wow. My head hasn't been this quiet since we arrived here."
"My head is always loud." He hadn't meant to say that aloud.
"Hm?"
"I'm loud on the outside, so it makes sense I'm loud on the inside, right?"
"Oh. Yeah." Scott leaned back forward and gestured towards him. "We need to do this more often. I'll get you materials for the wine if you need. Ooo, we could get some lotus flowers as well…"
"I agree! This has been an interesting night for sure!" It felt nice to not have to think, to strategize, to only think of the beautiful man in front of him. Mainly because yes, he was beautiful-everyone here was, really-but his personality matched that. He was an intriguing man who hid secrets just like many of them despite not appearing to, and that was fun.
Good fun. Harmless fun.
Scott was someone he could leave behind if he won and he wouldn't carry anything but fleeting, warm memories of a short-term relationship. He had an inkling that Scott felt the same.
"My fans probably miss me," Scott mumbled as he laid his head on the table. "Do yours?" Nikos laughed.
"I don't have any fans, pretty boy." He ignored how his head spun a little with every harsh laugh.
"Surely you have to have some sort of fans back home."
"If I did, they probably wouldn't be alive anymore." Nikos couldn't help but admit sadly. "It's been too long."
"Yeah…" Scott moved to stand up and smiled. "The King commands you to stay still."
"The King is a tyrant."
"You can't drink any wine. So stay still."
"That doesn't change the fact that the King is a tyrant." Scott ignored him and instead walked towards him. He stopped just before his knees touched Nikos'.
"Your turn," Scott mentioned casually, hands slightly flexing. Nikos smirked. He could tell where this was going.
"The King commands you to stand still." Scott complied and Nikos stood up as well, bringing them almost nose to nose. "Your turn," Nikos breathed. He could almost feel every breath Scott took, every beat that thudded in his chest, every part of the man that admired him.
"The King commands you to sit down again."
"The King commands you to sit on my lap."
They stared at each other for a bit after Scott adjusted himself, mainly drinking in the closeness. The warmth, the feeling of Scott's hands on his chest, the feeling of not being alone. Still, neither of them moved, not wanting to break the spirit of the game.
Because they were still playing a game, after all. Neither of them wanted to lose.
"The King commands you to kiss me." Nikos obliged with a small kiss to his cheek. Scott's eyelashes fluttered slightly with frustration. Nikos decided to throw him a bone.
"The King commands you to kiss me." Scott immediately went in and kissed him on the lips, startling him. His surprise only lasted for a few seconds before he, too, dived in. Nikos and Scott forgot about their game and continued the kiss each other feverishly, wanting more, more, more.
Anything to not have to think about the world outside of the walls of Scott's house. Anything to have companionship.
When they had finally had enough of each other, Nikos and Scott simply looked at each other again, assessing their damages on each other. Nikos had marks in the corners of his neck and Scott's lip was slightly bleeding from where Nikos had bitten too hard.
(Scott had immediately asked him to bite again, bite everywhere, but he refused. Mainly because it was fun to feel him kiss harder in his annoyance.)
"It gets lonely sleeping under the stars, doesn't it?" Scott whispered, still unable to remove his hands from Nikos' skin. It was like he enjoyed the texture of it; a subtle way to remind himself that Nikos was still there.
"Sometimes," Nikos admitted, unable to keep his eyes off of Scott. He found himself distracted as he touched the top of Scott's fluffy hair. Perhaps he had drank a little more alcohol than he had expected-his thoughts were slowing down quickly, becoming almost incoherent. He wanted to kiss Scott again, so he did. He felt his hands drifting down to the other's waist, holding him gently.
They were playing their parts in a pantomime of a deeper relationship. Nikos had done it a million times before.
This was where he belonged in the world of companionship and romance. This was where both of them felt comfortable being. Close, but not too much. Together, but still alone.
"The King commands you to stay the night." Scott rubbed his fingers against Nikos' scratchy beard. He tilted Nikos' head up slightly, like he was admiring him.
Good. He was something that needed to be looked at. To be observed. To be wanted.
If nobody looked at him, did he truly exist? He could be by himself, sure, but humans needed each other to thrive. Nikos needed connection, especially if there was a high chance he'd be sent down into the lonely Underworld again.
"It's silly to expect an answer from me when I can't say no!" Nikos pointed out with humor in his voice as he stood up, carrying Scott in his arms. Scott yawned.
"It's still fun to see if you agree. Although, I think we may be actually sleeping. The sun must be coming up soon…I'm so tired…"
"Either way." Nikos shrugged, also feeling the exhaustion start to hit him. "Neither of us will be alone."
"Yeah," Scott mumbled. "Neither of us will be alone."