For The Love of a Friend: Dante and Apollo

by Noah Harris

  Apollo stalked forward, fingers curling into a fist as he advanced. Dante glanced down, setting the notebook in his hand onto the stack of notebooks on the table beside the chaise. Apollo lashed out, not using his full strength, but with a growl that felt more like a cry. Dante tightened his jaw, taking Apollo’s fist across it with little more than a pained grunt as he stumbled backward, tripping and collapsing in an awkward heap onto the floor as Apollo shook his now stinging injured hand.

  Apollo stared down at Dante as his friend rubbed his jaw, his wincing face finally lit by the moonlight as he sat on the floor. Dante could have easily avoided the blow, there had been more than enough warning it was coming, but Dante had only tensed his jaw, preventing Apollo from accidentally knocking him out.

  “Forgot how hard you can hit,” Dante muttered, still rubbing his sore jaw.

  Dropping to his knees in front of him, Apollo gathered Dante up in his arms and yanked him into a tight hug. Damn Dante and his willingness to take what the world doled out to him, his willingness to sacrifice himself, his body, his heart, all for the sake of those he cared about.

  Dante flailed, one hand slapping down onto the chaise as though to pull himself away, the other clenching onto Apollo’s back as he was drawn in even closer. For a moment, he didn’t seem to know if he should brace for worse, or give in to the embrace. The seconds ticked by, and Apollo felt Dante relax against him, his free hand coming around Apollo’s waist and giving in to the tight hug.

  “I’m sorry,” Dante repeated, voice muffled by Apollo’s chest.

  Apollo drew back, running his bandaged hand over Dante’s jaw. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. Why?”

  “Because I’m scared,” Dante whispered.

  Apollo had meant why did Dante take the punch so readily, but Dante’s answer to his next question placed another crack in Apollo’s heart. His eyes stung as he gripped Dante’s shoulder, chest aching as he thought about the pain his friend held within him, sealed away from the world where he suffered alone. Dante had done what he’d done out of love. It was a stupid decision, but Apollo couldn’t blame him.

  “You don’t have to be scared, not with me,” Apollo told him.

  “I know, but I am anyway.”

  Apollo could find no words to that, choosing instead to take Dante’s hand in his own as he settled back to sit on his legs bent beneath him. Dante’s nimble fingers squeezed his, freezing as he felt the rough scrape of the bandages. His eyes widened, and he pulled Apollo’s hand up into the light. Apollo had changed the bandages before going to bed, so the injury didn’t look nearly as bad as it had.

  “What happened?” Dante asked, eyes huge.

  Apollo snorted, curling his fingers back around Dante’s. “Samuel and I had a little…talk.”

  “Holy shit, did you get into a fight with him?” Dante asked.

  “No, just the pillar.”

  “You punched one of the pillars?”

  “Repeatedly, while yelling at Samuel.”

  “You…punched a pillar and yelled at Father. I…well, I bet he didn’t see that coming.”

  “I think some part of him expected it. I don’t know if he even knows it, but I think he’s been waiting for me to come to him ever since the day my parents died.”

  Dante frowned. “Your parents?”

  Apollo sighed, looking down at their joined hands. “My parents were his third hands before they died. Hell, they died because they were his third hands.”

  Dante’s eyes widened even further. “Your…”

  Apollo smiled grimly. “Now you understand.”

  Dante’s shoulders sagged. “Christ, I wondered why you were so pissed about what I was doing. I thought you just…I don’t know, didn’t approve, weren’t big on the secrecy, and just all-around mad that Father had me going off on my own all the time.”

  “Well, that was part of it, and I’m still not happy about it, but then he told me the story about how exactly you came to be his third hand,” Apollo said.

  Dante winced. “Told you that too, huh?”

  Apollo nodded, unable to help the fond smile which stretched over his face as he held tight to Dante’s hand. It had been so very like his friend to force his way into the position somehow, all while managing to irritate Samuel in the process. It didn’t ease his anger at Samuel for choosing an eighteen-year-old for the position, but Apollo knew firsthand how difficult it was to say no to Dante when the man was bound and determined.

  Apollo cupped Dante’s face with his uninjured hand. “I wasn’t mad at you, Dante. I understand why you did what you did, and I understand why you’ve kept it from me and…I understand why you said what you said at the camp.”

  Dante laughed softly. “Even if I was full of shit?”

  “You’ve always been full of shit; it’s part of your charm,” Apollo teased.

  “Oh, thanks,” Dante said with a roll of his eyes.

  Apollo bit his lip nervously. “I want to kiss you again.”

  The humor in Dante’s eyes died as he searched Apollo’s face. Watching him, Apollo could see the flash of desire spark in Dante’s eyes, disappearing behind a wave of fear, and then the indecision as Dante went to war with himself. Apollo waited patiently, knowing Dante had to make the choice for himself, to choose between the relative ‘safety’ of keeping their relationship strictly platonic or taking the risk to find something so much greater.

  Dante tilted his head up, facing Apollo with a nervous lick of his bottom lip. Apollo waited, watching as Dante’s lips spread into a small smile, and he pushed himself upward. Their lips met as Apollo bent down to meet him, sending a jolt through his frame.

  Apollo’s hand clenched around Dante’s, not caring about the sharp jolt of pain as he felt Dante’s fingers return the gesture. Their lips worked against one another, opening to allow their tongues to dance together. Apollo reached behind Dante, wrapping his arm around his back and pulling him in closer to the kiss.

  “Apollo,” Dante breathed, his voice weak and trembling.

  “I’ve got you,” Apollo promised, pulling him closer to hold Dante steady.

  Dante responded with a low noise, his taut shoulders easing as he pressed in for another kiss. Waves of electricity and heat worked their way through Apollo’s body, drawing a warm glow from his chest that was equal in pleasure to the feel of Dante’s mouth and body pressed against his own. He could feel Dante giving in to the kiss, his fingers exploring Apollo’s back and shoulders, stroking up to caress his hair.

  They broke apart, and Dante took a deep, shuddering breath. “Jesus. How did that somehow end up better than the first time?”

  Apollo nuzzled his cheek with a chuckle. “Amazing how it works when you finally let yourself enjoy it.”

  “I-I want more,” Dante said, stuttering over his words.

  Apollo closed his eyes, pressing their foreheads together once more. “You can have whatever you want Dante.”

  Dante ran his hands over Apollo’s shoulders, looking unsure. “I-I kinda just want to lie down with you.”

  Apollo raised a brow. “Yeah?”

  “What? I’m not allowed to want a cuddle instead of sex? I mean, I definitely want to have sex with you. But I mean, I kind of just want to lie down with you for a bit, not that you have to sleep or anything. Hell, I would be happy just lying there in the same bed, we don’t have to do anything else.”

  Apollo stared. “Are you…babbling?”

  Dante flushed. “Maybe? I don’t know. My brain is freaking out, but I’m trying to get it to shut up because kissing you felt amazing and I’m sure everything else is going to be amazing but I kind of just want to be held. Whenever I’m around you, I always feel like everything might just be okay, so I kind of want to just like, soak that up and…”

  Apollo silenced him with a kiss. “C’mon. Let’s go to bed.”

  Chapter 13 – Dante

  ~~*~~

  Warmth surrounded him completely as he dozed comfortably, driftin
g between waking and sleeping. Apollo’s arm was wrapped comfortably around his waist, his breath steady against the back of Dante’s neck. Worries and fears drifted into his thoughts, only to drown beneath the comfort of the bed beneath him and the man behind him.

  How many times had he dreamed of this exact moment? Of lying wrapped up in Apollo’s bed, knowing a comfort he could only barely imagine. The reality had proven to be so much better than his fantasies, and Dante lost himself in the joy which had wrapped itself around his heart.

  Never before had just lying down with another person brought him to such a level of calm that he didn’t think there were words enough to describe the sensations passing through him. Never before had someone’s arm around him felt as though it belonged there, as though it had been meant to be placed there all along. Never before had he felt the rampant fear and anger in his head dulled to a whisper at the back of his mind, too weak to withstand the warmth of pure contentment.

  From behind him, Apollo stirred, his breath shuddering. Dante waited, smiling as he felt Apollo shift forward, pressing his lips gently to the back of Dante’s neck. A tingle spread out from where Apollo’s lips met his skin, running down his spine. Dante turned his face toward him, smiling gently.

  “Morning,” Dante whispered.

  Apollo’s dark eyes flicked toward the window with a chuckle. “It’s not even early enough for the birds to have started singing.”

  “It’s technically AM, so it still counts,” Dante said.

  Apollo shook his head, claiming Dante’s lips with his own in place of a response. Dante wasn’t going to argue, giving in to the kiss in an instant. It was a little scary how easy it was to let himself fall into what Apollo offered and how comfortable he felt being with him.

  “Morning then,” Apollo said once they pulled away.

  Dante turned onto his side, letting his face rest on Apollo’s chest. “Sleep well?”

  “It was a good nap. I notice you didn’t sleep.”

  Dante shook his head. “I dozed a little, a bit like getting lost in thought, and a little bit like dreaming.”

  “Sounds…very nice actually, depending on the thoughts and dreams.”

  “I just kept thinking…how easy this whole thing is turning out to be.”

  Apollo lifted his head, smirking. “Easy?”

  Dante scowled at him. “Look, I’m sorry about that, okay? I was being an idiot, and I shouldn’t have freaked out. You deserved better than to be treated like that.”

  Apollo smiled. “Maybe I did, but I know you would never intentionally do anything to hurt me. You’re just scared.”

  Dante felt his body relax, even as the guilt continued to squirm through him. “I’m not so scared at the moment.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  He had sat for an entire day thinking about what Matalina had said to him, letting it tumble around in his head. It was what had brought him to Apollo’s house in the middle of the night. It was what had led him to pluck the first notebook from the box, his breath catching as he rifled through the pages that were nothing more than drawing after drawing of him.

  Dante had thought he understood what Matalina had meant, but he hadn’t. Not until he’d felt the tension bleed from Apollo as he curled himself around Dante’s body. Not until he heard the smallest sigh of contentment as Apollo breathed in his scent, his hand coming to rest on Dante’s hip as he wriggled in closer. Then, as he had listened to Apollo’s deep, steady breaths, without so much as a fitful mutter or restless twitch, Dante understood just what he could bring to Apollo.

  Even if it did scare the shit out of him.

  Apollo kissed Dante’s forehead. “Anytime you get scared, worried, or have doubts; you come talk to me, understand? And if all you need is to be held tight and say nothing, then I can do that too.”

  Dante’s chest tightened. The knowledge of how unbelievably lucky and cared for he was overwhelming him. Without hesitation, he pushed himself up, kissing Apollo soundly. He’d never been good with words, or at least not skilled with them, and he hoped everything he felt and thought went into the kiss. Dante poured every bit of thanks, happiness, and love he could muster as he spread himself over the top of Apollo, kissing him fiercely.

  Apollo’s hands came up to rest on his waist, gripping tightly, and Dante felt the heat in the kiss shift. Suddenly, it dove down deep, leaving his chest to slam into his groin. Apollo’s thumbs pressed against Dante’s hips as his fingers tightened on him, pulling him down with a roll of his hips. Dante’s lips parted, letting out a low groan as Apollo ground up into him. They had changed into only a pair of loose shorts each before lying down, and it was far too easy to feel Apollo’s thick cock press up into his ass on the first thrust.

  Dante ground back down into him, breath catching as he heard the faint growl bubble up from within Apollo’s throat. Before he could do more than have the passing thought of appreciation, Dante felt Apollo begin to move. Dante gasped as he was rolled onto his back, with Apollo coming up to his knees above him. Dante’s head spun, both from the sudden action and from the sudden sensation of Apollo’s strong body pressing down around him with a fierce kiss.

  It occurred to Dante then that in all the times he’d fantasized about being with Apollo, wondering what it would be like to feel his hands take hold of him, to feel his muscles work and shift beneath his skin, he had never had a clue what Apollo was like as a sex partner. For all they had shared over the years, Apollo had never spoken of it, and Dante had never asked. In fact, Dante had always avoided the topic of sex with Apollo, not wanting to invite a stab to the heart in case his friend decided to share.

  So it was a bit of a surprise when he felt Apollo manhandle him without so much as a moment of hesitation. Using one hand to hold Dante by the chest, Apollo gripped the waistband to Dante’s shorts and pulled them off him. Apollo’s dark eyes swept over Dante’s now exposed body, hungry and full of a fire that drove straight to Dante’s groin. Dante’s breath caught as Apollo’s hand traced down from his chest, over his stomach, before wrapping his fingers around Dante’s straining cock.

  “Oh fuck,” Dante groaned, arching up into the touch.

  Apollo’s fingers wrapped confidently around Dante’s shaft, pumping with slow, steady strokes. Every few pumps, Apollo’s thumb slid gently over the head of Dante’s cock, slipping over the leaking tip with a teasing flick. Dante’s breath sharpened, trying to push further into Apollo’s grip, but trapped as Apollo’s other hand continued its exploration of Dante’s body. Fingers stroked his collar bone, over his shoulders, and down his chest to gently tweak his nipples. Apollo stroked Dante’s stomach and sides, squeezing his hips with another light growl.

  “Not…fair,” Dante panted.

  Apollo bowed his head, eyeing Dante. “Oh?”

  “I’m naked but you aren’t?”

  Apollo chuckled, pulling his hand away from Dante’s stomach to place it at his own waistband. “Oh? You…want me to take these off?”

  Dante looked up, nodding eagerly. His eyes widened as Apollo’s thumb dipped below the band, pushing at the elastic as though to push them down before sliding out once more. Dante let out a growl of frustration, unable to do much more since Apollo hadn’t stopped slowly stroking his cock. He could clearly see the outline of Apollo’s cock straining so hard against the fabric of his shorts that it was a wonder they were still in one piece, and he wanted it out.

  And in him.

  “Apollo,” Dante snarled in annoyance.

  Apollo cocked his head, a slow smirk spreading over his face. “Maybe…you should take them off.”

  “Let me up, and I will!” Dante grunted, not caring that Apollo was playing him like a fiddle.

  Without a word, Apollo released his hold on Dante’s cock and slid to the side of the bed to stand on the floor. Without missing a beat, Dante swiveled himself around to take hold of Apollo’s shorts and pull them down. Apollo’s cock slid into view as Dante managed to i
nch the shorts down, little by little, until finally it sprung up to freedom. Dante’s movements stopped as he gazed up from his position on the side of the bed, letting the shorts drop to the floor.

  In all the times he’d seen Apollo naked, his friend had always been completely soft. Dante had also done his absolute best to make sure his mind never strayed too far down that path, and had always kept his eyes above crotch level. Now his eyes were full of nothing but Apollo’s crotch, and he swallowed hard at the sight. Apollo’s cock hung below waist level, even though it was clearly hard. The tip glistened in what little light came through the door, and as Dante watched, it twitched with the pulse of Apollo’s heartbeat before heavily swinging down once more.

  “God, is there anything small on you?” Dante asked with a nervous laugh.

  Apollo placed his hand on the back of Dante’s head, smirking down at him. Dante didn’t need to be told twice, reaching out to grasp the thick shaft and inch his way forward. Big as it was, Dante wasn’t going to be intimidated in the slightest. With a low groan, he bobbed his head forward, pushing Apollo’s cock past his lips and over his tongue. The leaking tip splashed over his tongue, drawing another low noise from him as he inched Apollo into his throat.

  For all his best efforts over the years, Dante had never quite managed to conquer his gag reflex. It was even harder with Apollo’s cock as it spread his throat wide, his muscles squeezing along the shaft and head. Apollo’s grip tightened in his hair, a growl echoing from deep in his chest as his hips twitched. Dante grunted, letting Apollo push a little more into his throat before he was forced to back off. Not deterred in the slightest, Dante bobbed his head forward.

  Before he could get into the rhythm, he felt Apollo moving above him, leaning forward to tap Dante’s shoulders. “Get on all fours.”

  Normally, Dante would have a smartass comment for someone who thought they were going to tell him what he should be doing. Yet the deep rumble of Apollo’s voice sent a thrill of pleasure down Dante’s spine and he felt himself quickly getting onto all fours. It required a little bit of maneuvering on his part as he continued to take Apollo back into his throat, but he managed it.