Note 1: For those who go 'hoorah, an ace story, no sex' ... prepare to be disappointed because there is sex in this one. That said, if you are worried that Charon will try sex and go 'oh, actually, this is awesome, I was mistaken'...worry not because gross, I'd never do that to you. Charon isn't sex repulsed but he is still ace from start to finish.

Note 2: for anyone who saw this on AO3 and thought 'but that was a different pen name, this must be stolen… look again. I switched pen names

Story

Hermes drifted lazily in that luxuriously comfortable place inbetween sleep and wake, enjoying the soft warmth that came from settling at any kind of crossroads or boundary. It was not a domain the god often got to indulge in, but for once he had nothing pressing calling at him and in this time and place he could settle into the closest he ever got to being still. The hard contours beneath him should not have made a comfortable bed, yet no feather mattress could ever hope to match the feeling of lying skin to skin, chest to chest, over the warm, welcoming body of someone Hermes loved.

In this twilight state, the body beneath him could have been any number of people; those Hermes loved he loved freely and completely and there were few among them who Hermes would turn down the chance to cuddle, especially a naked cuddle, but there were subtle clues to give away his partner. They were warm, but not as warm as Apollo. They were too flat chested to be any of the women Hermes knew, and while Hermes might have sex with near strangers, he did not go for this kind of intimacy with them. They were too broad chested to be Dionysus, possibly even Ares.

Hermes was way too comfortable and relaxed for it to be Zeus.

Hermes cuddled into the body beneath him with a contented sigh, hugging his arms about the broad chest. The man beneath him did not hold him in return. One hand ran its fingers up and down his back, feather light, sending delicious tingles down Hermes spine. The other pressed against the back of his head, not hard, occasionally running his fingers through his hair. Hermes feet moved, almost the only outward sign of his constant restlessness even in such quiet moments, caressing against the legs of his partner, wings mostly tucked down like a bird at rest but he seemed unable to stop them occasionally fluttering. The wings over his ears fluttered as well, reacting to the lovely caresses of those hands over his back, along his scalp, fluffing and occasionally nudging gently at the hand over his head when it stilled for too long.

Then the fingers ran along the edge of his wing and Hermes arched into it. The body beneath him huffed in amusement and Hermes felt a deep vibration beneath his chest.

"I amnotpurring," Hermes answered, tone indignant but for the smile he spoke the words through, and far too energetically for the lazy half-asleep glow he'd seemed fully settled in only a moment before. The body below him sighed mournfully as Hermes propped himself up until they could look each other in the eye. The hand at Hermes scalp slid down to run along his back, other hand still lightly tickling against his ribs, and Hermes arched into the feeling.

Charon did notexactlysmile, unless one knew where to look for the signs of happiness, not so much an expression as the hint of one. Smoke haloed their heads and Hermes, ever adept at languages and able to read Charon like a scroll, smiled for the two of them.

"And I do not need more sleep," Hermes added, belatedly responding to Charon's mournful tones as Hermes had shifted from half-asleep to fully and energetically present. "I've already slept for…" Hermes paused, suddenly unsure. The underworld was a place apart and whatever time sense Hermes had above, beneath sun and moon, had deserted him here. Charon smiled and let out a soft rasping noise that might almost have been a laugh. Hermes felt the vibration in Charon's chest beneath his arms and shuddered as he slowly became aware of a pleasant warmth between his legs.

"Really? The entire night?" Hermes asked, for the moment ignoring the growing arousal as unimportant, something to maybe indulge in later. Anyway, if Charon spoke the truth, Hermes had over-indulged himself in lying with his friend. And Charon did speak the truth, he always did, he was born before Deceit existed and despised her. It was actually a wonder he had become close to Hermes considering how deception was a part of Hermes' realm. Perhaps because Hermes had never turned those powers against Charon; ruling a realm meant one anchoredbothsides and Hermes might help thieves, but he also protected from them.

In the next moment, Hermes was in the air and Charon groaned, a mournful sigh at the loss, but his hands made no move to stop him, letting him glide free with no more resistance than brushing through blades of grass. Hermes did not go far anyway, wide-eyed and alert but reluctant in his own way. He could still feel the phantom sensations of those hands over his skin. Purple smoke encircled him, as if to draw him back, and though Hermes knew it had no weight he swore he could feelsomething, like the ghost of a hug.

They were both still naked, of course. Charon didn't even have on his hat. Hermes enjoyed the rare and intimate sight, knowing the kind of trust they shared between them to allow this. Charon's eyes roamed over Hermes in turn, and if Hermes hadn't known the man better he might have flexed his muscles to show off, but he did know better and knew there was nothing like that kind of admiration in Charon's look. It wasn't that Charon didn't find Hermes attractive but that his attraction didn't lie in the way his well-toned body showed off muscle or the way his curls framed his face. No, Charon treasuredHermes, looked at him the same way he looked at gold, but never out of any kind of hunger for his body.

Despite this, Charon's eyes settled at the erection Hermes had made no move to hide. Charon was not shocked or disgusted, he never was. He tended to react to the natural responses to closeness in Hermes' body with some mixture of curiosity and indifference, perhaps cataloging it as just another part of what made up his friend. It was one of the things Hermes loved about Charon in return; Hermes could simply be when around him, with nothing to hide. Well, sometimes he tried to hide if he was overly tired or injured in some slight way. Charon could be surprisingly concerned over such small things and Hermes hated to upset him even if he secretly enjoyed the fuss. Anyway, Hermes had no such hurts, and apparently had slept the entire night and felt not a hint of fatigue, so all was well.

Well, except for the growing need to do something about his arousal, but it was not yet urgent. Hermes had not even yet decided whether it was something to take care of or something to will away. Already he felt the itch of being inactive too long, the need to run, to fly, to soothe out the wrinkles in his domains and check in on his worshippers, to gather the dead and to spread messages at the will of the gods.

Charon did not move himself from the grassy bank where they had lain together, with no effort to hide any part of himself. Despite the low hum throughout Hermes entire body that constantly seemed to be seeking sexual encounters, and despite his actual arousal, Hermes didn't really see his friend lying naked on the grass as erotic. Enticing, sure, he was strong and well-toned and large. But nakedness alone did not speak to Hermes as erotic, though the smoke actually helped, tantalizingly hiding bits before swirling away. Naked was natural. More to the point, naked was vulnerable. Charon lay himself out before Hermes in a way no one else ever got to see, hiding nothing. That is what spoke to Hermes, creating a pull between them that was only partially sexual on Hermes end…and completely non-sexual on Charon's. Hermes loved sex but he did not need it, not with Charon. From Charon he got intimacy and trust and skin to skin touch that fed an entirely different hunger from Hermes' desire for sex and one far less often indulged.

Sometimes, before Charon, Hermes had felt he was burning with a need he could scarcely understand, desiring something he didn't fully know how to ask for. Sex he could get easily, and he indulged often considering fertility was one of his domains. But this… it was almost never offered unless alongside other connections that every fiber in Hermes' body screamed 'no' to. He wanted intimacy with someone he trusted, someone he loved, but not all the rest of it. Not the holding hands, not the peacock displays, not the 'come back to me and only me' that was usually implied.

And then there was Charon. Charon, for whom everything had a price. Charon, who preferred solitude to company. Charon who was greedy and jealous of his possessions, who hated deceit.

Charon who offered freely to Hermes everything Hermes needed without any attempt to pin him down, who treasured him without needing to own him.

"Goodbye, my friend," Hermes said, still reluctant but knowing it was time to go. He had his job and Charon had his own duties or, if not that, then a chance for the solitude Hermes' presence had stolen from him for the night. If the latter grieved Charon, he did not show it, the opposite in fact. Hermes was on the very brink of darting away when Charon's soft groan stopped him, a swirl of purple smoke reaching as if to hold Hermes in place. Hermes' brow wrinkled, not out of anger or annoyance but puzzlement.

"You want to…help me?"

Charon's answer was firmer this time, less tentative, one hand gesturing towards Hermes' erection. Hermes' brow furrowed further and he glanced down as if to be sure of things, not at himself but towards Charon's groin. Sure enough, there was no stirring there.

It took a final firm groan to reassure Hermes that the offer was freely given, not as an attempt to stop Hermes' flight nor from interest in evolving their relationship, nor out even out of some misguided attempt to 'fix' what Charon had clearly started. Charon did not care about having sex himself, but he did not find the natural urge repulsive in others and he would no more mind helping Hermes through an orgasm than he minded helping him to rest or bandaging his wounds. He loved Hermes, all aspects of him and was curious about sharing this aspect that they had never before pursued.

If it had been an obligation or, even worse, some delayed desire to lead their long friendship into the realm of romance or to bind them as a couple, Hermes would have gently denied him and been on his way. If that had been the case, Hermes would have willed the erection away before indulging in it. But that was not the tone of the offer.

"You are…curious?" Hermes asked, coming closer without fully deciding to, his furrowed brow smoothing into a surprised grin. "Have you ever…" but he trailed off abruptly, the smile sliding away, and instead he bit his lip, glancing away.

The groan that answered that look was basically just Hermes' name, a question, a concern. Quickly the smile returned to Hermes' lips, though there was still something shuttered about it. Softly, Hermes alighted on the grass and Charon pulled himself to sitting, their positions the reverse of the norm with Hermes looking down and Charon up. For a long moment they stayed like that in silence, Hermes not seeming to find the words he wanted, Charon not knowing what Hermes needed. Finally, Charon groaned, a long, deep sound, purple smoke pouring about the two of them.

"I…I was just going to ask if you have ever had any kind of sexual encounter with another person." His words were soft, spoken more to the ground than Charon. Charon frowned, more at the posture than the question, then carefully answered, ending in a question.

"Oh, I've had hundreds of encounters," Hermes answered, tone lighter now that he felt more assured he hadn't accidentally asked something that would make Charon uncomfortable. He was still looking at the ground, though, not quite meeting Charon's eyes, wings flat against his head. "God of fertility, I am, and of boundaries and initiation. Those things are more related than you'd think. Anyway, I started having sex the moment my body matured, and enjoyed it, too, playing with the nymphs. Not really surprised you never saw the need but I can't remember a time Ididn'thave that need. Kind of like the need to get close to people but in a different way. But what about… self-pleasure? Have you even ever felt that?"

Charon groaned, raising a hand to in a 'so-so' gesture.

"Really?" Hermes asked, puzzled again, but at least looking him in the eye now, more relaxed now that they had each asked and answered. "It felt good but wasn't worth the effort?"

Charon nodded, then groaned a question again, hesitant this time, clearly aware he was moving through uncharted waters. Still, Charon was nothing if not an adept boatman, and this time Hermes smiled.

"Oh, I suppose for me it… I enjoy the lead up almost as much as the completion. It starts warm and builds, and builds, and sometimes I hold it back just to build everything higher. Though if I hold too long it becomes painful."

A concerned groan again, and Hermes is quick to say, "Oh, no, I'm not at that point yet. And anyway, I could choose to simply not bother if I don't have time for it, will it away. Can…can you choose or do you have to take the effort when things arise?"

And if there was a mischievous quirk to Hermes' lips at the turn of phrase, there was genuine curiosity in his eyes as he naturally looked towards the organ they now discussed. Charon, naked, was equipped with a manhood equal to his size, but Hermes had never noticed it to so much as twitch. It did not do so now, lying calm and flaccid, though even in this state it was intimidating. Truth be told, if Charon had ever seemed inclined in that direction and asked Hermes to spread his legs for him, Hermes might have thought twice about taking him on.

Oh, who was he kidding. Hermes loved a challenge. He'd agree in a heartbeat.

But Charon was not interested, and Hermes never needed that kind of intimacy with him. What they had was enough. More than enough. It was a relationship separate from any other Hermes had ever embarked upon. Not brotherly but not sexual either. If there was a name for what they felt, Aphrodite probably knew it, but Hermes had no need for a label and no desire to discuss his love life with the goddess of love.

It had never been about sex, but now that Charon was offering…

Hermes was, at the heart of it, a very social and tactile individual. He enjoyed sex, and he enjoyed intimacy with those he loved and trusted, but seldom did these two loves meet. Those he loved intimately he either did not dare bring sex into the mix, for fear of stirring up desires in his partner for the kind of relationship Hermes felt unable to enact, or they were unavailable for whatever reason to enter into carnal pleasures with him. But Charon… Charon did not want a romance. Charon did not want a wedding. He opened his arms to Hermes but never caged him in their grasp. And for the reverse, Hermes never insisted Charon must defy his nature to be a social butterfly on Hermes' arm. Hermes never judged him for his love of gold over companionship. Never shied away from his grim appearance, either. Hermes loved Charon as he was, and Charon treasured Hermes for who he was, and that was that.

A shyer, less impulsive god might have hesitated and worried and overthought things. A different sort would fear how this would change things between them. That it could ruin everything. But the two of them were so far past that kind of worry that not even a shadow of such doubt flitted across Hermes' face before he smiled and drew himself closer, one hand reaching for Charon, the other gently stroking his erection.

"Well, boss…" Hermes started, then paused, a playful smirk on his face, and even as Charon reached out a hand to hold the one reaching for him with a hint of a smile himself, Hermes drew back. "Actually, perhaps I should be the boss in this, seeing as this is my thing." And he flitted away, then back, now wearing Charon's hat. It was a bit too big, but that was just as well because it allowed space for Hermes wings.

Charon groaned, somehow conveying fondness and reproach in the same breath. Hermes stood unrepentant, naked but for the hat, erection pointing to the sky.

"So how do we want to do this? I'm guessing you won't want to try a blow job as your first encounter." Then, at Charon's questioning groan, "That's where you take it in your mouth and suck on it." Another question. "I don't know, I didn't name it." Another question. "I mean…I won't be opposed if you want to try but maybe let's lead up to that kind of thing. Do you want to touch it?" And Hermes was still grinning, but there was just the slightest hint of hesitation in his voice. If he was worried Charon was having second thoughts he needn't have. Charon, conveying only amusement and curiosity, did reach out his hand again, and with no hesitation whatsoever, ran the tips of his fingers up along the shaft.

"Oh…" Hermes said, his half groan sounding like a decent attempt at speaking Charon's language, and he leaned in towards Charon, reaching to grasp his shoulders to steady himself.

Looking utterly pleased with the reaction, Charon did the same again, then wrapped his long fingers around the shaft, still gentle, a hold Hermes could have slipped away from if he wanted.

Hermes wanted nothing of the kind.

"Yessss," he hissed, his own fingers digging into Charon's shoulders as he leaned into him, then, "More, you can go harder, I'm not made of…oooohhhh."

For a moment, Hermes closed his eyes in bliss at the touch, then he couldn't quite contain a slight wince as the contact edged for a moment into the uncomfortable, the hand rubbing him too dry. He said not a word, but the hand left him immediately and Hermes was slightly embarrassed at the whine that escaped him at the loss.

"It's fine," Hermes tried to say as he opened his eyes again to see Charon staring intently at him, the same sort of look he got when Hermes was trying to hide a limp, or the shadows under his eyes. Charon responded to his words with a low groan that was almost a growl, and just when Hermes felt disappointment coiling in his gut, certain that this new game was going to end before it started, Charon's hand moved unexpectedly fast. Not to stroke Hermes again as he half hoped (indeed as he had leaned his pelvis in for, unconscious desire guiding him) but to snatch the hat from Hermes' head and return it to its rightful spot.

"Hey!" Hermes yelped, his head wings fluffing indignantly, ruffled by the sudden move. Charon, if anything looked smug. "Fine, boss, how do you want to play this then?"

Charon looked thoughtful for a moment, then let out a slow moan, a question this time.

"Oh…ah…well, the truth was it was too dry. Too much friction. Usually use something slick, water or spit or, er, bodily juices help things, I mean, oil can also…"

How long Hermes might have babbled about the concept of lube he had no idea, because Charon listened just long enough to understand the gist, clearly came to some kind of conclusion, then leaned over and took the entire length of Hermes' penis into his mouth.

Hermes went utterly quiet and still, his hands grabbing Charon so tightly he might well be leaving bruises. Charon did not seem to mind, just stared up innocently beneath the brim of his hat, eyes carefully studying Hermes' expression, the tell-tell flutter of his wings, as Charon explored the new sensation of having another man's penis in his mouth. The wings had fluffed up, Hermes' eyes closed, his head thrown back, his mouth round in his surprise.

"Oohhhh, yesss, that's…" Hermes babbled out next, once the ability to speak finally reasserted itself. Then, despite the clear flush to his face, and the way his erection throbbed delightfully as he felt the usual rise in pleasure, he managed to stutter out, "You okay?"

The groaned yes, almost had Hermes lose his balance as he felt the vibration through his entire length, and Charon was extremely lucky he was not suddenly subjected to his first taste of come. But Hermes managed to hold himself back, barely, and Charon continued his explorations without such surprises.

Finally, the hot cavern engulfing Hermes' dick slid away, lips clinging, allowing the length to slide along his tongue as Charon slowly, oh so slowly, removed his mouth. His expression was far from repulsed as the head finally popped free, the entire shaft glistening and wet, but nor was there any sign of lust in his expression. It was contemplative, that of someone tasting a new food and trying to decide if they cared for it or not.

"Well?" Hermes asked, sounding amused, "How do I…oooh," as once again Charon returned his hand to Hermes now well lubed shaft and stroked it firmly. "Yesss, yes, yesyesyes," Hermes said next, pelvis jerking into the hand, chasing the glorious pleasure towards its peak, "More of that, yes, just, yeyesyesyseyesyyeyyyyeyeeee… gonna…!"

When he did come, too suddenly, too in the moment to properly warn Charon, Hermes arched into Charon's hand, body trembling, as his seed emptied over into the grass, into Charon's hand, his arm, even some over his chest. Then Hermes went utterly limp and Charon only just managed to catch him before he fell over.

Charon let out an alarmed groan, carefully bearing Hermes to the grass, clearly worried over this turn. Hermes, in response, curled up in a fit of giggles.

"Sorry," Hermes said when he could, not sounding sorry in the least, "Should have warned… yes that is normal, actually, I mean not every time but… Apollo says it's something about the flow of ichor and not having enough for both heads…" and he fell back in another fit of giggles. Now that Charon was certain he hadn't done something wrong and hurt his friend, he leaned back and started to laugh a bit himself.

They stayed like that for a bit, curled close, not quite lying in the mess of bodily fluids but also not quite having escaped the sticky mess, more Charon than Hermes. They basked in their long friendship, in the enjoyment of sharing anything together regardless of personal desires, and in the laughter and silliness their moment had led to.

"And I suppose that has answered your curiosity?" Hermes asked, sitting up again at last, suddenly well aware of the passage of time and that he had delayed far beyond what he'd ever intended. Still, what were a few minutes more, and it was only common courtesy when he said, "Here, let me get you cleaned up…"

Charon groaned, and Hermes looked down at himself and laughed, conceding the point that maybe they both needed to get cleaned up. Hermes had less by way of bodily fluids, but he was not exactly pristine either.

The bath was familiar to Hermes, being the one he tended to come to when he felt the need to be clean. An odd choice, perhaps, for a being of Olympus to choose a bath located in the Underworld, but Hermes was a god of boundaries and perhaps it was not so strange. They bathed each other, a familiar practice as well, gentle and intimate, though Charon carefully cleaning between Hermes' thighs was new.

Despite what they had just done, despite the love Hermes could still feel for Charon, there was nothing sexual in the act. It was one of trust. Of love. But not of sex.

Hermes did not have a word for his relationship with Charon, an oddity considering Hermes domain was partly to do with words. But for them, it worked. It fit.

So they did not kiss, they did not swear their undying love. They giggled and cleaned each other. And then, after Hermes had dressed himself again, he simply gave a brief wave of farewell and left, a smile on his lips. And Charon, with a smile of his own, let him go.