Dante carefully laid Helios down on the bed after helping him wash up in the bathroom. Given the circumstances, Helios was still unable to walk and far too exhausted to even remotely take care of himself. It was by no means the first time Dante had to help him, and with what lay ahead, it wouldn't be the last either.
Besides, Helios had refused to go to bed covered in soot, sweat, and blood.
Time and again, Helios was wracked by violent fits of coughing that made him curl up in pain. With a quiet sigh, he finally sank back into the pillows and closed his tired eyes.
Dante took the opportunity to check his wounds. He carefully disinfected them and then wrapped a stabilizing bandage around his sprained ankle.
"We really should take you to the hospital," Dante observed, worry in his eyes.
"It's just a sprain," Helios mumbled weakly.
Dante raised an eyebrow as his gaze wandered over Helios' pale face. "You should also get treated for smoke inhalation."
"So Father can get the bill from Soley? That wouldn't be obvious at all," Helios replied sarcastically before yawning and turning his head to the side, exhausted.
At that moment, Spider lay down next to Helios on the bed without any warning. The freshly showered assassin also looked worn out and sank heavily into the pillows, breathing hard. He snuggled up to Helios and wrapped an arm around him. Helios let out an annoyed sigh, keeping his eyes closed.
Without warning, he felt his carotid artery suddenly pounding furiously, and rage flared up inside him.
How dare that bastard of an assassin?!
Dante struggled desperately to keep his composure. He would have loved nothing more than to break Spider's arm on the spot and throw him out. His jealousy boiled up, sudden and fierce, even though he himself wasn't entirely sure what exactly he felt for Helios. But one thing was clear: the feelings he had for him were still far too strong.
It drove him mad to see Spider so close to Helios while his own body treacherously reacted to the sight. Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, Dante tried not to completely lose control. Did absolutely everything have to be so unbearably complicated tonight?
"Let me…," Helios murmured weakly, making a half-hearted attempt to push Spider away. But Spider didn't move an inch.
"I need this right now," Spider yawned, gently rubbing his cheek against Helios' head. "If you let me, I'll get you a doctor who can stay discreet."
Helios let out a quiet groan as Spider pulled him even closer.
"Besides, I have to make sure my wallet survives the night," Spider added with a mocking undertone. "After all that trouble, you still owe me a royal reward."
"I can't breathe…" Helios complained weakly. "And besides, you've already had way too much fun for one day. I should cut your pay."
Spider grinned before burying his face in Helios' neck. "Try it, and I'll do things to you that'll make you hand over the cash willingly."
"Psychopath," Helios snorted.
Spider laughed softly, which turned into a single cough. He shifted his arm around Helios but still held him tightly.
"You had fun too," Spider said tiredly, snuggling closer to Helios. "Hmm… you really have the perfect size. But you're too skinny, put on some weight."
Helios made an annoyed face and furrowed his brows. "You'll never get this close to me again…" he murmured, before he finally ran out of strength and his breathing settled into a soft, steady snore.
Dante could hardly believe what he was seeing. Watching Spider and Helios cuddling was definitely not on the list of things he'd pictured for Soley. Annoyed, he wiped a hand across his face.
"You're not seriously planning to sleep here with us, are you?" he asked mockingly, while pulling off his sweat-soaked shirt and tossing it carelessly onto the floor.
Spider opened just one eye and looked at him lazily. "Unlike you, I'm completely done for," he yawned widely. "Tell me, how do you even do it? You fought in the same damn smoke, even came out later than I did — and you're still standing there like a machine. My lungs are still burning like I swallowed fire."
Dante paused for a moment as Spider's words hit him.
"I'm used to situations like that," he deflected. "Eventually you learn how to breathe in those conditions. Besides, Helios set up a pretty good improvised solution for our escape."
"Right, you both had those cloths," Spider yawned again.
"He wet them so the air would be easier to breathe," Dante explained, even though he hadn't really understood what Helios had been trying to achieve.
Spider didn't say anything for a moment, making Dante think the assassin had already fallen asleep.
"He really is clever. I was wondering why he hadn't collapsed by then… I should remember that trick…" Spider mumbled, his voice growing fainter and fainter. "Still never seen anyone recover as fast as you. Almost admirable."
With that, Spider also fell asleep.
Dante stared at the assassin for a while, uncertain whether he should press a pillow over his face until the guy was dead and no longer a risk. He wouldn't have mourned Spider; Dante couldn't have cared less if he lived or died.
But then his gaze fell on Helios, who still needed Spider to get his revenge on Belladonna.
Besides, Helios was still keeping his promise to Dante.
They had finally stolen the materials they needed from Soley. Helios had said he'd managed to squeeze some information out of the researcher. They had everything required to finally end Dante's immortality.
Soon, he would be mortal again.
Absent-mindedly, Dante stared down at his hands. The scars that had carved deep into his skin long before he became immortal were still clearly visible. Every line reminded him that he had once been only human — vulnerable, fragile, and more alive than he currently felt.
He looked forward to being normal again. To being able to stay drunk when he drank too much, instead of sobering up after just a few minutes. He longed for that heavy, leaden fatigue in his bones after a long, hard day of work. For the ache in his muscles after intense training. For the sting of small cuts you get while cooking or fighting.
For all those tiny signs that reminded a person they were truly alive. He was looking forward to the normality that such a life would bring.
He wanted to live his life more consciously then. More carefully. To feel and appreciate every sensation — especially because they were no longer something he could take for granted.
Dante was more than aware that mortality could also mean an early death. After all, he could be mortal again for only a few hours before getting shot. The possibilities for an early death were endless. Still, he would accept whatever fate had in store for him.
He sighed quietly.
Even though he still didn't know what the coming time with Helios would bring. There was still the torture gnawing at him. The uncertainty behind Helios' actions, and the awareness of his true nature.
Because Helios no longer seemed to be the person Dante had always thought him to be.
And he couldn't ignore the fact that mortality would also mean exactly what he saw now with Helios and Spider: physical weakness, exhaustion, total vulnerability. If they ended up in another situation where all the Guardians had fallen, he would no longer be able to keep fighting endlessly as before. Not only he would be in danger — but the others as well.
Even though part of him desperately wanted to become mortal again, he was now plagued by a guilty conscience at the thought that he might be the reason everyone else could die. After all, his self-healing allowed him to keep fighting indefinitely.
Losing that ability wouldn't just mean his own final death, but potentially the death of everyone else as well. Including Helios.
A heavy feeling spread through his chest, a bitter lump forming in his throat.
He felt torn, caught between his longing for normality and the fear that this wish would drag everyone else down with him.
He sighed again and finally went into the bathroom. He undressed and stepped into the shower. The hot water pounded soothingly against his skin, washing away not only the dirt and sweat of the mission but also a portion of the burden from his shoulders. For a brief moment, Dante closed his eyes and simply let everything go.
He didn't know what else Helios had discovered in that research complex, or exactly what data and materials they had hauled out of there. He could only hope Helios would manage to finish the antidote quickly enough. If anyone could do it, it was him — the smartest person Dante had ever met, brilliant and ruthlessly efficient.
Despite all the worries and doubts rising within him, he did not waver in his conviction that it was better for him to become mortal again. He was an anomaly, apparently the only one of his kind in this regard. He was unnatural.
Immortality should not exist, and he hoped Helios would destroy all evidence of the research once he had reached his goal. At least on that point he had no worries. Helios was sensible enough to destroy the formula afterward.
He trusted that he would do the right thing.
Even if his current behavior was more than questionable.
He turned off the water and began to dry himself off carefully. With practiced movements, he stuck a few bandages here and there, even giving himself a small superficial cut so the bandage would look more believable later. Spider might as well see that Dante had taken some damage too.
Then he pulled on a simple pair of pants he used for sleeping and cast a tired glance toward the bed. Thanks to Spider, there was significantly less space there than originally planned. Luckily for Dante, the two others were lying so close together that he could still claim a narrow strip of space for himself.
He switched off the bathroom light and let the faint moonlight guide him through the room.
His gaze lingered on Helios, who wore a visibly annoyed expression even in his sleep while Spider continued to cuddle tightly against him. Unconsciously, the corners of Dante's mouth twitched upward. Even in his sleep, Helios seemed annoyed by Spider — the thought made a bit of Dante's jealousy fade away.
Carefully, Dante pushed the blanket aside and sat down as gently as possible on the free spot. Still, the mattress immediately sagged under his weight, and he involuntarily held his breath. A quick glance at Helios: no reaction.
Only then did Dante realize how tense he was, and he slowly exhaled again. He cautiously lay down, but as soon as he shifted his full weight onto the mattress, it dipped in the middle.
Helios let out an annoyed groan, still half-asleep, and slid closer to Dante. Dante could feel his warmth, even his breath — and before he could react, Spider followed too, clinging to Helios in his sleep and thus being pulled closer to Dante as well.
Spider made a dissatisfied noise but didn't let go of Helios.
Dante froze, his mind racing. Should he get up again and sleep in the chair? Kick Spider out the door? Or just shove him out of bed with one good push? The thought was tempting. But the idea of Helios' inevitable reaction if he were woken up stopped Dante from doing it.
He finally decided not to move and to somehow fall asleep, even though his current position was anything but comfortable.
But just as he was about to close his eyes, he felt Helios reach for him and cuddle even closer. Spider mumbled some incomprehensible curse word, then rolled over to the other side with a dissatisfied grunt and finally let go of Helios.
"Warm…" Helios murmured softly, before drifting back into gentle snoring.
Uncertain, Dante placed an arm around Helios and allowed himself to settle into a more comfortable position. Fine, he would just sleep like this.
But sleep refused to come.
He opened his eyes again and watched Helios sleep for a while. The cool moonlight made his already pale skin appear even whiter, giving him an almost ghostly look. Ethereal. More immortal than Dante ever felt himself.
He desperately needed to find out why he had done it. Why Helios had had no problem torturing a human being.
He needed answers — sooner rather than later.
Had he really done all of that just for me? Or was it really just some sick pastime?
No… no one cut off another man's penis just because they wanted information for someone else.
Damn it, he didn't even know what kind of answer he expected. Nor did he know how he would react, no matter what Helios said. A part of him even wished Helios would just deny everything, claim he had only found the man and had nothing to do with it. Even though Helios had already confessed to him that he had done it.
But Dante couldn't truly accept it. Not yet.
He sighed quietly. In all this mess, the only thing he was fairly certain of was that his feelings for Helios were incredibly strong.
Why else would he still be hoping that, in the end, everything would turn out alright? Why did he still believe that his gut was wrong and that maybe Helios wasn't a psychopath after all?
Just that thought alone made him feel pathetic.
He knew he couldn't let these feelings guide him too much.
He gently brushed the young man's cheek. It was an almost automatic gesture, one he didn't even think much about. Helios wrinkled his nose slightly at Dante's touch. Carefully, Dante pulled his hand back so as not to wake him.
He wanted to understand him. He had to.
Why did everything have to be so damn complicated?
In the past, Dante had never hesitated. He had always known what he was doing, what he wanted to achieve, which path he had to take. There was a clear plan, a strategy, a goal.
But Helios had turned that world upside down.
He didn't just make Dante lose his head — he shattered every rule Dante had ever lived by.
And it wasn't even as if Helios was the first person Dante had ever fallen in love with. Though until now, it had always been women at his side. Never a man.
Helios was the first. And maybe that was precisely why he was so dangerous for Dante's heart.
Once Spider was gone again, he would get his answers. He just had to hold on a little longer.
Dante closed his eyes. These constant emotional swings were eating him alive. This constant up and down was wearing on his nerves, on his mind.
How far could he even trust Helios anymore? How was he ever supposed to trust again if he didn't know who Helios truly was?
Had Davis known? No, Dante could hardly imagine that. Davis had never been someone who would tolerate such atrocities.
What else was Helios hiding from him?
Did he even have the right to want to know everything about him, when he himself still kept one or two secrets? Besides, they had only known each other for a few months.
It had been such a short time they had spent together, yet more had happened than in the past ten years of his life.
Helios truly had a talent for turning his life upside down.
Slowly, the fatigue overcame him, heavy and relentless. There was no point in brooding any longer. He needed sleep — no matter how fast his cells regenerated, the exhaustion remained.
Dante cast one last glance at Helios. In the moonlight, his face looked peaceful, almost innocent, as if he couldn't hurt a fly.
Dante wished he could just believe in that image.
With a final sigh, he closed his eyes and finally let the exhaustion win.
___
The next morning, Dante woke up feeling wrecked. He had slept poorly, since Spider had turned out to be a rather restless sleeper. Contrary to his silent skills as an assassin, he was not only restless in his sleep but also pretty active. More than once, Dante had ended up with Spider's hand in his face, or had to protect Helios from one of Spider's kicks.
The result was a long night and a very tired Dante. Even though he could already feel the headache from sleep deprivation starting to fade, he was still ready to just close his eyes and go back to sleep.
He longed desperately for Thomas' coffee. The old man knew exactly how Dante liked it and made it perfectly every single time. It would have been so nice if Thomas were just here, with a steaming cup that could make the world feel right again, at least for a few minutes.
Helios was still lying in his arms, breathing softly and steadily. As always, he slept like the dead — even without sleeping pills, he seemed to have finally found some rest. For that, he clung to Dante all the more tightly, as if he never wanted to let go.
By now, it had become normal for Dante that they slept together like this. At least as long as no one in the manor found out. He didn't even want to imagine what would happen if someone saw them like that. Helios' father was completely obsessed with women and wanted nothing more than to finally find one for Helios as well. Seeing his son in bed with a man would probably not please him at all.
Bodyguard or not. Even if there wasn't more than innocent sleep.
Involuntarily, Dante tensed up as he thought of Vale. Icy anger surged through him.
So Helios' father really had been behind his immortality.
Feelings of revenge rose within him. He was the one who had condemned him to this immortal life. But for what? Why was he researching immortality? Whom did he want to make immortal? Helios? Himself? Or someone completely different? Or was it just earning more money in the end?
Dante pressed his lips together. Helios himself didn't seem to have any interest in immortality, at least. Maybe he just wanted to understand how the serum worked, to analyze it, break it down. But he had never even hinted at wanting to try it himself.
That calmed Dante, at least a little. Helios seemed, just like him, to be a prisoner of this madness — not a co-conspirator. At least that was the impression Dante had…
Or was he just a damn good actor?
Dante closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He wanted to trust Helios. He had to trust him. But doubt clung to his mind like a parasite, refusing to let go.
Unconsciously, he pulled Helios a little closer to him, as if that could drive away the thoughts.
They really needed to talk. The more Dante thought about things, the more doubts piled up, and that would eventually make him explode. He was not good at avoiding confrontations. Understanding came through conversation. If you didn't talk, misunderstandings arose.
And misunderstandings, if that's what they even were… damn it…
I have to stop overthinking everything, he tried to tell himself, while his gaze stuck to the ceiling. But the uneasy feeling in his chest wouldn't go away.
The first one to stir was Spider. Sleepy, he sat up, yawned loudly, and rubbed his eyes drowsily. Without a word, he got up and staggered toward the bathroom, looking so absent-minded that Dante half expected him to run straight into the door. But surprisingly, Spider reached the bathroom door safely and closed it so quietly it was almost eerie.
Dante snorted in annoyance.
If only Spider had been that quiet during the night!
Maybe it wasn't too late to catch a little more sleep, at least. Whatever Spider was doing, Dante couldn't care less as long as he did it quietly. And Helios would surely sleep for quite a while longer — he was anything but a morning person, after all.
Roughly estimating, he had a good two hours left to find a bit of peace. Normally, he would have already been up and finished with his morning training by now. But sometimes it was simply necessary to rest.
It didn't happen often that Dante changed his routine. But right now, he just didn't feel like it.
Slowly, he closed his eyes, pulled Helios a little closer, and gently rested his chin on his head. He just wanted to believe that Helios wasn't the psychopath he had seen in the treatment room — that there was more behind his actions, something beyond sheer cruelty.
"I knew you two were close. But who could have guessed you were THIS close?" Spider suddenly whispered into his ear.
Startled, Dante's eyes flew open and he reflexively clapped a hand over his ear. He flinched so hard that Helios grumbled in annoyance, while Spider chuckled quietly. An unpleasant tingling spread across Dante's ear and neck.
God, how that damn assassin got on his nerves!
"Relax, big guy," Spider's tone was almost amused. "I'll leave you two alone now. I've got a few things to take care of. Tell our little friend here I expect payment as usual — and that I can set up a meeting with Belladonna in three to four weeks."
Spider knelt down, pulled on his boots, and stretched with a satisfied groan. "I'll let you know when I have more details. Until then, take good care of my favorite source of money."
Dante only growled, "Obviously."
Spider laughed quietly. "Oh, really? You looked like you wanted to wring Helios' neck yourself at some point."
"That…" Dante began, but couldn't bring himself to finish. He didn't want to. Especially not with Spider.
"You know my opinion on that whole mission," Spider grumbled while lacing up his boots. "We should have killed them all. Helios did exactly what was necessary." He coughed quietly, sounding hoarse and exhausted. "Damn, we could have really died down there."
"I know…" Dante replied softly. The guilt was still gnawing at him. He had nearly led them all to their deaths. If they'd been more ruthless, the mission would have ended faster — without the constant danger at their backs, without that frantic escape.
Spider eyed him for a moment, assessing. "I don't usually butt into other people's business without getting paid for it. But here's one of my rare free pieces of advice: Helios usually lets other people handle the dirty work. If he gets his own hands bloody, then either he cares about you or about your cause."
Dante stared at him in shock.
How does this bastard know so precisely what's really going on here?
Spider grinned knowingly, as if he'd read Dante's thoughts. "I wasn't sure if all this was about you, but now I am," he said, adjusting his blades and pouches so they wouldn't get in his way. "Don't worry, big guy, I won't start caring about the details until someone pays me to."
With one last mocking glance, he stepped over to the window, opened it silently, and looked back over his shoulder with that typical challenging grin. "See you around."
And then he was gone — like a shadow, he jumped out without a sound, leaving no trace.
In disbelief, Dante stared after him. Couldn't the guy at least leave through the door like a normal person?
He let out a relieved breath. At least they were finally rid of Spider, and Helios was still sleeping, so he could rest a bit more too. He closed his eyes again and enjoyed the cool air drifting into the room through the open window.
Helios snuggled up against him even more.
Dante's irritation faded a little. If only everything could be as easy as this moment. He wanted to keep enjoying this quiet peace, at least for a little while longer.
When they got up, he would confront Helios.
He would face reality.
No matter what it might look like.