Page 4 of Cupid’s Flight

“I’m definitely older than you, and I dance like this,” Hei responded, his lower lip extended in a playful pout.

“I’m nearly four thousand years old,” Leo replied. He tried to sound stern, but when he had a man plastered against him, forcing him to dance, he sounded more petulant than angry.

Hei suddenly spun until his back and soft feathers of his wings were pressed against Leo’s chest and Leo’s arms were wrapped around Hei’s. The new position allowed Hei to tip his head back against Leo’s shoulder so their eyes could meet. Hei’s silver eyes were still sparkling. Leo found himself wanting to look away, while at the same time getting pulled into their depths. Somehow, that described basically every interaction Leo had with Hei, and Leo found himself hating and loving that feeling at the same time.

“I’ve only gone through the cycle of rebirth once. If you count the years of my life before my rebirth, I’m somewhere between eight and nine thousand years old. But I guess if you’re only counting the years this physical body has existed, I am probably younger than you. I’m maybe around three and a half thousand? We don’t really keep track of birthdays that closely.”

“Does that mean you’re close to another rebirth?” Leo asked. If Hei was nearly four thousand years old now, and had lived approximately four thousand years beforehand, then logically his rebirth was likely imminent. Leo ignored the strange pinch in his chest those words caused.

Hei shook his head and this time his frown was real. “No. Last time I chose to enter the cycle early. I was ready to be something new, although I knew I would be reborn as a tennin of some kind. I was reborn, but I found nothing had really changed. This time, I chose to run away, instead of rebirth, and experience the rest of the world.”

At which point Hei had been captured by demon worshipers and rescued by goblins, so all Hei had seen of the world was negative. Being up in the clouds and experiencing Samhain was likely the first good thing Hei had found since leaving home. The least Leo could do was ensure his time up in the clouds was a good memory for him.

Leo let out a slow breath, reminding himself that everyone else was very drunk and wouldn’t remember even if they did notice him, and gripped Hei’s hips so they could sway together in better sync.

Hei’s frown immediately vanished, his happy smile brightening his entire being again, and this time Leo allowed himself to be pulled in. Hei was a magnet, a beautiful, utterly alluring temptation. The laughter of the people around them, the beat of the music, and the crackle and heat of the fire against the chilled night air—none of that mattered as Hei took both of Leo’s hands and pulled him into the dance.

Leo had no idea how much time passed, only that Hei’s smile hadn’t dimmed in the least. The fire burned down as they spun and Hei giggled, until suddenly Hei stumbled and fell against Leo’s chest, gripping the front of Leo’s chiton as he tried to catch his balance. He looked up at Leo through his lashes. One of his hands released the front of Leo’s shirt, his long, delicate fingers drifting upward to caress against Leo’s cheek. The fingers trailed downward, feathering along until his fingertips reached Leo’s lower lip where he paused.

“You have so much loneliness in you,” he whispered. “Someone as pretty as you inside and out shouldn’t be this lonely.”

Leo shook his head but reached up with one hand to grip Hei’s where it was still pressed to Leo’s face.

“I have my nephew…”

Leo trailed off. While it might be true that he had his nephew, Sable was happily married and off living his own life. Rather than joining Sable’s solstice party, Leo had gone to work instead. So yes, while he had family he loved, Leo knew exactly what Hei was talking about. Loneliness was a constant, droning thing that was always in the background of his life—easy to ignore for the most part, but definitely still present. And yet... Hei’s fingertips brushed along Leo’s lower lip. His eyes had darkened. The sparkle from while they were dancing wasn’t gone, just muted behind the want currently dominating those very silver eyes. Most compelling was the emotion hidden deep in the depths where only someone who had the same experience would notice it: loneliness. Hei was sparkle and fun—he danced with such joy and abandon—but he was exactly the same as Leo.

That loneliness was why Hei had run away rather than trying to reincarnate again, Leo realized. Where Leo had chosen to shut himself away after betrayal, hiding from his feelings and burying them with work, Hei had instead gone searching for something that would fill his void.

What Hei was offering was only enough to stave off being alone for one night. Hei would leave in the morning, and Leo had the next job to prepare for. And yet, even one night was better than nothing at all.

Decided, Leo reached up to clasp Hei’s hand, holding him still so Leo could press a kiss to those gentle fingertips where they rested against his lips.

Hei’s eyes went even darker, and the corners of his lips lifted upward in a smile so full of promise, Leo almost didn’t hear what he said.

“Where?” Hei murmured, his voice husky. “Somewhere close, because flying is going to get really difficult in a moment.”

Leo laughed. “My house isn’t far.”

He tugged on their clasped hands, but Hei beat him into the air anyway. They passed a couple other plazas with fires burning low as they flew over the cloudbanks to the residential area Leo called home but didn’t pass anyone else. The hour was late enough most people were long asleep. Hei flew close, their hands still clasped, and occasionally their wingtips slid against each other in a delicate—and admittedly dangerous, since they were still flying—caress. Heat rumbled low in Leo’s stomach, flaring every time Hei’s feathers brushed against his own and ready to erupt in a mere moment. Except, when they reached Leo’s house, surprise had him pausing to hover in the air.

A gourd sat on his front step, carved into a happy smile with a candle flickering inside. It hadn’t been there when he left to go to the human world that afternoon.

“How cute! Is this for the holiday?” Hei asked, tugging on their clasped hand to pull Leo down so Hei could get a better look.

Leo nodded. Warmth bloomed, higher up this time near his heart. Even though Leo had abandoned him for work today, Sable had clearly been thinking of him anyway. “Carved gourds or turnips are traditional. They’re to help ward off evil spirits. I suspect my nephew Sable is responsible for this one, to make my house look more festive.” Or, more likely, Wynn was responsible and Sable had gone along with his husband’s fun. “I’m sure most houses have them, although I don’t know how many are still lit since it’s so late. We can go around and look at them if you like.”

Hei snorted out a laugh. “Not a chance. I am much more interested in finding out if your hole can take a pounding.” This time, his wingtips brushed pointedly against Leo’s butt as he back winged and landed.

Leo stumbled as his feet hit the ground, and his knees refused to hold him steady. The heat was no longer in his heart; instead a raging inferno of want and need and now blasted through his groin. Getting his keys out of a pocket, suddenly tighter than normal, to open the door had him fumbling around like a teenager on his first date.

“Maybe tomorrow afternoon we can go look at all the decorations,” Hei continued, thankfully giving Leo some space to focus on sliding the key into the lock and turning the handle. As the door popped open, Hei pressed close, his arms wrapping around Leo’s stomach from behind. “Although, I know I’d definitely prefer the sight of you, wet and waiting for me.”

The filthy words coming out of Hei’s mouth should have sounded wrong. Instead, the happy, bouncing Hei had simply evolved into this wonton, wonderful being. Leo was so hard the front of his chiton bulged, and it took the last of his coordination to walk inside and shut and lock the door behind them.

Their kiss was wet and sloppy, tongues tangling and sliding until Hei pulled away just far enough to nibble along Leo’s lower lip. Leo ran his hands through the folds of Hei’s yukata, searching for flesh, then groaned when he finally found Hei’s chest, hard and muscled with small round nipples just begging to be sucked.

Hei’s obi came off with a few quick tugs of the knot. Leo expected the robe to then come apart but was stymied by the koshi himo he found underneath, the workings of the inner strings holding the yukata together eluding his clumsy fumbling.