he God of Mischief was singing to himself again as he arrived at the abandoned temple. He really couldn't get the damn tune out of his head. It had to be one of the worst ones he'd ever heard but it was just stuck there. Walking into the bedroom he suddenly found himself confronted by a very angry mortal.

"You did it on purpose!" his counterpart almost shouted.

Breaking off his singing, Joxer raised an eyebrow. "Nice to see you too," he said sarcastically.

"I bet you thought it was funny, leaving me here like this!"

"Hey, hold up a minute! What's your deal? I told you I'd be gone for a while," Joxer pointed out.

"Yeah? Well next time d'you think you could leave me some clothes?" his twin snapped, motioning to the bedsheet he had wrapped around his waist.

Clothes? Then Joxer understood. "Oh! Right. Sure. No prob." Used to just having clothes appear whenever he wanted them to, he'd forgotten to leave any for his mortal.

"No prob?" his double repeated in disbelief. "I--I've had to wear this!" Again he pointed at the bedsheet.

"And it's really not your style. We gotta do something about that, but first you need a bath." Joxer placed an arm around the man's shoulders and led the protesting mortal towards a bath in the middle of the room that hadn't been there a moment before.

Ignoring his continued objections, Joxer divested him of the bedsheet and dumped him in the bath. Apparently realizing that Joxer wasn't going to pay any attention to him, the mortal shut up and proceeded to sulk as Joxer began to bathe him.

Kneeling on the floor behind the bath Joxer couldn't help smiling at his twin's actions. The man was absolutely adorable like this, but it wouldn't do any good to let him continue with the attitude. "Quit feeling sorry for yourself," he ordered as he scrubbed the man's back. "It's not like it's cold or anything here so you couldn't have been all that uncomfortable. You had everything else you needed so I'd say you were doing pretty good."

"That's not the point," the mortal grumbled, "and I didn't have everything. Do you see a window in here? What was I supposed to do when the chamberpot filled?"

Oh. And Joxer had thought that unpleasant smell was due to the mortal needing a bath. Well, how could he have known? It wasn't like gods had to deal with things like that. A flick of his fingers and the chamberpot in question was once again empty and the air in the room suddenly took on a fresh smell. "All taken care of," he announced, turning his attention back to washing his twin.

"You could at least apologize." The mortal was still grumbling and it was kind of cute.

"I'd have to be wrong to do that, and I'm never wrong," Joxer replied indulgently.

His counterpart snorted in disbelief. Joxer let that pass. He was in too good of a mood to argue and besides, his double was starting to show a bit of spine, even if it was only when he was angry, and Joxer liked it.

"So what happened with Ares?" asked the mortal.

"It was totally fun," Joxer replied with a giggle. "You wanna hear the whole thing?"

"Okay."

Joxer began giving him an overview of everything that had occurred during the past couple days, but he hadn't even made it half-way through the narrative before he was stopped by a hand grabbing his.

"I can get the rest," the mortal said, taking hold of the washcloth.

For a few moments Joxer didn't release it. Looking at his twin he was tempted to insist on finishing this himself. Running his gaze over the body before him he wanted nothing more than to explore every inch of it. He wanted to know if they were exact duplicates, if the same places were ticklish, if the same touches turned them on -- but the mortal was watching him with a trace of fear in his soft brown eyes and Joxer let go. It was still too soon to push it. He could only hope his patience held out as long as he'd need it to.

Unfortunately Ares was right about one thing, when it came to something the God of Mischief really wanted subtlety tended to go right out the window. He was very capable of seducing someone just so long as he didn't have a personal stake in it. But when it came down to something like this, where he wanted one man so much, it was difficult for him. His nature was to take what he wanted, not to ask, but this time he'd try to do it the right way. This mortal was worth the extra effort.

As his counterpart continued to bathe, Joxer picked up where he'd left off in his account of recent events. He didn't go into explicit detail -- although there were a few things he couldn't help dwelling on a bit -- but he gave the mortal a fairly good idea of what had happened and why. Still, by the time he was done he could tell his twin was confused about a number of things.

"Any questions?" he asked in a slightly teasing tone.

"Do you love Iolaus?"

Now there was something he hadn't expected. "Where'd that come from?"

"It's, um, it's kind of the way you sound when you talk about him," the mortal responded, not meeting his eyes.

Instead of automatically denying any feelings for his former disciple, Joxer didn't reply straight away. For the first time he actually thought about it, seriously. For long moments he stared silently at the floor, his thoughts turned inward, until he came up with the only answer he could. "I dunno." There were just too many conflicting issues and feelings between them for him to be certain.

"Because he's mortal?" Now his double was looking at him, no accusation in his gaze, only curiosity.

"No." Joxer sighed as he searched for a good answer. "I hate Hercules for taking him from me and I'm really ticked off at Iolaus for letting that half-breed come between us so I don't know if it's love or possession. I mean, I know I feel something more than the usual, but I dunno what it is."

"The usual?"

"It's kinda complicated. See, there's different kinds of mortals: you got your total scum -- no one cares what happens to them; and you got the useful but expendable type -- that's assassins and mercenaries and all them; then there's the ones you need -- kings and warlords and stuff -- and they're usually real pricks because they know you need them; then there's the other ones -- they're really the expendable type butchya just don't wanna get rid of them. You actually like 'em."

"Like toys," his twin suggested.

"Yeah! That's good. They're kinda toy-like. You're real fascinated with them and they're majorly fun to play with -- until you get tired of 'em and then you throw them away and get a new one."

"So that's what Iolaus is to you?"

"No, and that's the problem. I never could fit him in one of those categories. He's just...different." The subject should've made Joxer uncomfortable. In fact it should've made him angry that a mortal dared to ask him to explain himself, but it didn't. Talking to his twin had a relaxing effect on him.

"Have you ever loved anyone? Besides Ares, I mean," the mortal was asking. "'Cause if you haven't then maybe you're in love with Iolaus and you just don't know it. That could be--"

"Yeah," Joxer interrupted. "I loved someone else." He chewed on his bottom lip as he considered just what exactly he wanted to say.

"Cupid told me that love doesn't always feel the same," he continued quietly. "It can be really wild -- and I guess that's the way it is with Unc -- and it can be the other way around. So maybe I do love him. Fuck if I know. And it's not like it matters anyway. He's all buddy-buddy with Jercules and there's no way he'll ever be totally mine again."

Silence fell then as Joxer found himself reflecting on past memories he'd never wanted think about again. Love was an issue a god shouldn't have had to deal with, at least not on his side of the family. There should only have been hate to a greater or lesser degree -- except for when it came to his uncle and that was understandable. But love for mortals...he didn't know how he could've fallen so far as to even contemplate the notion, let alone feel it. It'd already caused him to suffer once and he didn't need to go through it again with Iolaus.

By making friends with Hercules, Iolaus had already proved that he wasn't worthy of the God of Mischief's attentions, so there shouldn't have been an issue there. Somehow Joxer needed to distance himself emotionally from Iolaus. If that meant not seeing him again than it was probably a good idea. He was a god and he couldn't afford to let sappy feelings get the better of him.

"Um, can I have a towel?"

The question snapped Joxer's attention back to the situation at hand. His twin had finished bathing and was looking at him expectantly. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Here."

A towel appeared in the mortal's hands.

"Thanks."

Joxer watched as the man stepped out of the bath and began drying off. This time his twin wasn't blushing although he was aware that he was being observed. He wondered what the mortal was thinking but he wasn't about to read his mind. That would simply be too strange. It would be like reading his own mind only the thoughts wouldn't be his -- totally unnerving. He'd stick with what he could read off of his counterpart's expressions.

"So, what'd you mean when you were talking about your followers?" the mortal asked.

"The mortals that worship me."

"People worship you?"

"I'm hearing an echo in here. Duh! 'Course they do."

"No one worships the God of Mischief in my world."

There was a concept Joxer had trouble grasping. He wouldn't have anywhere near the power he did without his followers. "How's that possible? I mean, a god's not a god unless he's got at least some shrines and a few mortals to leave offerings for him. Even the really minor gods got mortals praying to them every now and then. I just don't get how it could be any other way."

"You have shrines?"

"Fuck that, I got temples!" Joxer shook his head in disbelief as he got to his feet. What kind of under-achieving twit did they have masquerading as the God of Mischief in his counterpart's world? No followers? Whoever the guy was he had to have next to no power at all. Now that was a scary thought.

"Wow, temples? That's neat!" The mortal smiled at him.

"Neat? More like awesome. I got 'em in every major city -- except for Corinth now, thanks to Jason, but that's gonna change soon -- and most of the bigger towns."

"That's just so -- uh, 'cool'?" his twin tried out the unfamiliar word.

"Yeah," Joxer grinned encouragingly at him. "Totally."

The mortal was finished drying off and now he was just standing there with the towel around his waist, looking a bit uncertain.

"I did a lot of thinking about what'd look good on you," Joxer changed the subject abruptly. "You had some okay ideas and I thought about them, but I finally decided on this." He pointed to the bed where a pile of clothes appeared with a small flash of light. "You're gonna look perfect in them."

Watching his twin walk over to the bed, Joxer couldn't help but appreciate just how little that towel covered. It really was a shame to cover it up but hopefully it wouldn't be long before he'd have the chance to study that gorgeous body up close.

"How'd you end up with so many followers?" asked the mortal as he began examining the clothing.

"Because I'm a genius." It was a smart-ass reply but Joxer couldn't help it; he liked teasing his twin.

His counterpart gave him an exasperated look. "Come on, seriously. I wanna know. And are you sure this is such a great idea?" He held up the vest.

"Yep. Positive." Joxer dropped down into a nearby chair, slouching down comfortably. "Not that you don't look damn good like you are now." He threw the remark in to test the waters, so to speak.

The man tensed briefly, then he relaxed and even smiled a bit, although he was blushing -- and in some very interesting places too. Joxer grinned, making plans for later exploration of that phenomenon.

"So what about your worshippers?" the mortal said, obviously eager to turn Joxer's focus elsewhere as started to dress.

"Yeah, them. Well, I got this thing with Hermes. No, not that kinda thing," Joxer quickly amended when the mortal's eyebrows went up. "We got a deal. It goes back a few centuries. See, Hermes is real busy being the Messenger of the Gods and that whole bit so he didn't have a lot of time to be the god of thieves and travelers and merchants and all the rest of them. It was really driving him nuts, he didn't have time to do anything except run around delivering messages and answering prayers. So I made a deal with him. I took all the criminals off his hands. I'm talking the thieves, swindlers, con-artists, blackmailers -- you know, the fun ones. When you think about it, technically what all of them do is cause trouble, right? Well that's another name for mischief, and that's my department. So I did some creative talking and sold Hermes on it. I was really doing him a favor anyway, freeing up his time like that." He didn't bother to hide his smirk.

"And they all didn't mind changing gods like that?"

"Nope. It was cool with Hermes so it was cool with them and there wasn't anything the other gods could say about it; it's totally on the level. Besides, I got more of what you'd call a 'personal touch' than Hermes did. It works a lot better on these kinda mortals."

His twin looked puzzled. Joxer was very pleased with the methods he'd developed for doing his job and he didn't mind bragging. "This is something most of the other gods don't get," he explained. "They think it's stupid or beneath them or something." Stopping for a moment, he thought about the best way to convey the idea behind what he did. "Okay, think about it like this: about how many times in one day do you swear by the gods? You know, Zeus this, Hades that; that kinda thing."

The mortal shrugged. "I dunno. A few times I guess."

"Uh-huh, and what would you do if they showed up every time you did?"

Pausing in the lacing of his leather pants the man's eyes widened as he contemplated that event. "Whoa--I, um...hope they didn't kill me?"

"It'd make you think twice about calling on them, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah! Well, maybe if it was something really important I would, but I'd be pretty scared."

"Exactly." Joxer was grinning. "Most mortals never see their gods. They just pray to 'em and hope they get an answer. But with me it's way different. Everyone that worships me knows me. I get up close and personal with them."

"But isn't it really hard trying to keep up with all the prayers and stuff?"

"When I first started out, yeah." Joxer suppressed a shudder at the chaotic memories. "I had to get temples built and I needed priests and priestesses and everyone was praying to me -- it was like a majorly serious mess. For a while I thought I'd made a bad deal. It took most of a decade to get things the way I wanted them. I had to do a lot of demonstrating to show I was serious about it all, but I got it straightened out and now it's cool. See, all my worshipers know that if they call me I'll answer, but it better be important and they'd better be willing to pay the price, or I'll kill 'em. Real simple, huh?"

"Wow!" The man was obviously impressed.

"Wanna know the best part? I basically got the scum of society worshipping me, right?"

His twin nodded as he finished lacing up his pants, moving on to his boots next.

"Okay, well, you got any idea how many mortals that is?"

The mortal frowned slightly as he thought about it, then his eyes widened in comprehension. "Oh wow! There's gotta be, I dunno, hundreds of them!"

"More like thousands." Joxer didn't bother to keep the self-satisfaction out of his tone. "I got enough worshippers to compete with the major gods -- if that's what I wanted to do. But I don't because I'm happy with things the way they are. I just like rubbing their faces in it."

"So, you actually know everyone that worships you?" his counterpart asked.

"Yep. All their names and faces, and they know it. Kinda puts some fear in their hearts but it makes them pretty loyal too. They know I keep an eye on them so they wanna impress me, keep on my good side."

"You have a good side?" The mortal immediately shut his mouth, his expression apprehensive as he watched Joxer for his reaction.

Joxer's grin just widened. "Say what you want, Joxer. I'm not gonna bite your head off just because you're showing some backbone -- 'course if you want me to bite anything else just lemme know."

For a moment his twin didn't seem to know how to react to that, then he decided to take it as a joke, laughing as much with relief as humor. "You're strange, but you're funny too," he commented as he finished with his boots and began pulling on his vest.

Joxer really had been serious but it was probably better that the mortal hadn't seen it that way. For the time being at least. "Yeah, well, it's not something a lota people get to see, so consider yourself privileged."

That made the man laugh again. "So you're not like this with the other gods?"

"Right." Joxer snorted. "I really hate my family, 'kay? Except for a few of them they're totally worthless. Some of my mortal followers are better than most of the gods put together."

"I kind of like Cupid and Aphrodite, even though she keeps messing with my life," his twin said without the fear he'd shown before after he expressed an opinion.

"Well, I guess they're not so bad. Hephy and Hermes are okay too, but Uncle Ares is the best."

"Yeah, he is," the mortal agreed with a slightly wicked smile as he tried to lace his wristguards.

"Whoa," Joxer breathed as he took in the sight of his counterpart standing there wearing that smile. It was eerie. Since the day the mortal had fallen into this world the differences between them had been easy to see in their mannerisms, their expressions, their speech; but at that moment his twin was exactly that.

He found himself standing and walking over to the mortal. "Let me," he said quietly. He had the wristguards laced in a few seconds, then he stepped back to look at the man.

"Fates!" he whispered a curse.

"What? It doesn't look right, does it?" The mortal appeared disappointed and probably would've gone on about it if Joxer hadn't placed a couple fingers against his lips, silencing him.

"You gotta see this," he said with a smile.

With a thought he had a full-length mirror standing a few paces to his right. Grasping the man's shoulder he turned them both to face it.

"Check this out."

"I--oh." His counterpart quit trying to speak and just stared.

Joxer had been right; what looked good on him looked good on his twin. Nearly everything was exact, from the black boots to the wristguards crafted by Hephaestus. Only one thing was different.

"Joxer, what's not right here?" he asked, sliding an arm around the man's shoulders.

The mortal frowned at him in the mirror. "I don't -- oh, wait a minute." He seemed to concentrate for a few moments before his expression suddenly altered.

Now it was perfect, right down to the self-satisfied smirk. Joxer felt like he was seeing himself twice, like double vision or something.

"Wow," the mortal said softly.

"Yeah," Joxer agreed. "We're totally hot." That was definitely the truth. He loved his appearance, but to have another of himself -- it was a fantasy come true. His twin. His.

In that moment some of his self-control crumbled. Keeping his arm around the mortal he moved in front of him. His twin's expression became questioning.

"Pass out if you want," Joxer said, pulling him close, and he meant it. This time he wasn't stopping until he'd at least gotten a taste of what he wanted.

The kiss was almost gentle at first as he waited to see if the mortal would protest. When he met no resistance he took it further, sliding his tongue into the other's mouth, noting the slight differences, reveling in the sameness.

With a muffled groan he pulled the man up against him. It felt so good, the pliant leather-clad body tight against him, the tongue that hesitantly met his. Pushing a leg between the mortal's he moved his hand down to caress that tight ass, wishing it was flesh-on-flesh instead of the thin leather separating them.

His twin moaned, a sound that made Joxer's cock harden, but before he could make another move the mortal was fighting him, trying to push him away. Joxer immediately relaxed his grip but he didn't let go, allowing his twin to step back a bit but not out of his arms.

The man was gasping for air and his expression was a combination of confusion and fear -- it confirmed a number of Joxer's suspicions. He didn't move, waiting to see what the man would do.

"Why?" the mortal asked when he got his breath back.

"Why'd I do it or why'd you like it?" Joxer replied calmly.

"I didn't--" his twin started to deny the observation but stopped himself, glancing away as a troubled look crossed his face. "Okay, maybe I did," he admitted, "but why did you do it?"

"'Cause I want you, why else?"

"But...we're the same. It's like we're related or something. Doesn't that bother you?" Obviously it bothered him.

"Well," Joxer said thoughtfully, "considering that right now I'm knocking boots with about a quarter of my family; no."

"Oh." Apparently that answer had headed off the rest of the arguments his twin had been ready to present.

Joxer decided to let him off the hook. "Look, we can talk about it later, 'kay? Right now I got places to see and people to do and all that."

He released his twin, only to be surprised when the mortal grabbed him.

"Wait!" the man almost commanded, his grip tight on Joxer's arms. "Take me with you."

"What?"

"I wanna go with you."

"No, you don't," Joxer promised.

"Um, yeah, I do." The mortal's sudden courage seemed to be rapidly disappearing, but he made another effort. "It's just that you're always leaving me here and it's so boring!"

"It's better than being dead."

"But you said you'd help me!"

"I am. I got you some cool clothes and you're starting to act like you got a spine in there somewhere."

"Ha, ha," his twin replied sarcastically, a bit more of his bravado returning. "It's not what I meant! I want to be...better than what I am now. I want people to respect me, maybe -- maybe even be afraid of me a little. I want...I want," he paused, struggling for the right words. "Oh, Tartarus," he cursed, "I wanna be like you!"

Wow. Joxer didn't know whether to be flattered, proud, or really turned on. He settled for a bit of all three. But that didn't mean he was going to let his twin be deluded. "You don't really know me," he pointed out seriously, removing the man's hands from his arms. "There's a lot I didn't tell you because I wanted you to like me -- because I just wanted you."

"But...we're the same, aren't we? I mean, basically, we're the same person."

"There's some pretty big differences--"

"Yeah, you're a god, I think I got that part," the mortal interrupted impatiently. "But inside, we're the same. So there's nothing you've done that I'm not capable of, right?"

"Maybe, but no mortal ever really wants to know just what they're capable of."

"I do."

Oh, fuck. Just...fuck. This was not what Joxer had planned. This changed everything. He'd hoped that with his encouragement his twin would develop some confidence, but he hadn't thought it would assert itself now, in this manner. It was more than inconvenient, it was dangerous.

If he refused his counterpart's request he had no doubt whatsoever that the man would take it upon himself to venture outside the temple, if only to prove that he could. Joxer could lock the mortal in the room again but that would only earn him resentment, perhaps even hatred. There was only one other choice.

"No, you don't," he repeated, "but I'll take you anyway."

His twin smiled. "Were're we going?"

"My main temple outside of Marathon. I go there a couple times a week. Kick back, talk to some of my followers, fuck a few of them, kill a few if they get on my nerves -- that kinda thing." That was the truth and he hoped his casual manner about it would make the mortal think twice about tagging along.

His counterpart was, however, stubborn. "Sounds kind of fun." He smiled and although the expression looked a little forced, he didn't back down from his position, even managing to sound a bit eager. "So will I get to see all of your temple, I mean, like a tour or something? And, oh! Can I watch you talk to your followers? I'd like to talk to them--"

"Are you nuts?" Joxer interrupted, setting his hands on his hips. "I show up at my main temple with you in plain sight and the gossip'll be over half of Greece the next day. No way the other gods wouldn't know about you then."

"But I could pretend to be you and--"

Joxer interrupted again with a snort. "Puh-lease. Yeah, we look alike -- damn fine looking too -- but you open your mouth and not even the slowest village idiot's gonna believe you're me. Now if you were a blond...." He let the words trail off as the thought took root in his mind. It would take a bit of work, but it wasn't outside the realm of possibility.

"What?" The mortal frowned at him. "Why're you looking at me like that?"

"I've got a couple brothers," Joxer said thoughtfully.

His counterpart nodded with no expression of surprise. "So do I. Jett and Jace; we're triplets."

Joxer noted the mortal's resigned tone; apparently he wasn't too fond of his brothers. Joxer could relate. "Mine are Deimos and Phobos. They're older than me by a century or two, but yeah, we look alike, sorta."

"I don't really get along with my brothers. I mean, I love them, but they're so...different." The mortal shrugged, looking a bit lost for a better explanation.

"Sounds like maybe we're talking about the same guys here. You mentioned Jett before; an assassin, right?"

"He's the King of Assassins -- at least that's what he calls himself."

"Yeah, sounds like Phobos. So -- and this is just a guess here," Joxer said with mild sarcasm, "does one of your brothers like to dress funny?"

"Jace," the mortal said with a nod, looking embarrassed. Joxer understood that, sometimes family could be the worst kind of embarrassment. "He's kind of...flamboyant."

"Huh." Joxer considered that for a moment. "Kinda weird. I mean, here, Phobos likes to kill and maim, but he's also the one doing the crossdressing. Deimos is pretty damn flamboyant, but he's not raiding Mom's wardrobe like Phobos. Sounds like my brothers are some sorta mix of yours."

"You don't like your brothers much either, do you?" The man smiled at him, just a little, but it was almost a hopeful look, as though he wanted to know he shared something else with the god before him.

"Nope," Joxer admitted with a shrug, willing to indulge his counterpart a bit more. "I mean, I like fucking 'em and they make good pets, but they can be real pains in my ass."

His twin's eyes widened comically. "Pets?" The word was little more than a shocked whisper and it made Joxer laugh. It figured the mortal would find that stranger than the fucking part.

"Oh yeah," Joxer confirmed, grinning as he reached out to brush stray strands of hair from his twin's face. "Don't have much of a choice about that, 'less I want them screwing with my plans. They really messed with me when I was younger, so first chance I got, I showed them a little discipline."

"Discipline?" The mortal's tone was distracted, likely because Joxer hadn't moved his hand away and was now stroking his cheek.

"Uh-huh. Figured they were the kinda guys that talked big but really wanted someone telling them what to do. I was right, of course. They bitch and moan about it and escape sometimes, but they're pretty happy with me owning them. Ares is thrilled, which makes it even better."

"Ares--? But isn't he their--their father?"

Joxer snorted in amusement, still stroking his twin's cheek. "Yeah, right. Oh, maybe where you come from he is; here, Cupid went and knocked up Discord. Not that he cares much about them either. Those two are pretty much the scum of the pantheon; they really pissed off a lot of gods before I put 'em in their place." His grin widened at that and he slid his fingers over his twin's ear, pleased with the shiver that touch inspired because it obviously wasn't fear.

"What's their place?" The mortal sounded almost dazed now and he was leaning into Joxer's caress. He probably wouldn't have even asked that question if his mind wasn't otherwise occupied.

"Beside me in battle; I hold their leashes. When we're not fighting, they're usually chained to my bed in my main temple."

"But that's where we're going." Turning his head slightly, the mortal's lips brushed over Joxer's palm.

Joxer bit back a gasp, along with the accompanying urge to tear off his twin’s clothes and bury himself inside the mortal. "Yeah, well, you don't gotta worry about them. They were bad boys a couple weeks ago; I had to punish them." As he spoke, he let his thumb slide over his twin's lips. The mortal didn't pull away, in fact his eyes slid partially shut and his lips parted, just a little, enough for Joxer to feel warm breath on the pad of his thumb.

"Punish?" the mortal whispered.

"I locked them in their room on Olympus. No contact with the other gods, none with me, and no sex," Joxer breathed the last word, taking the single step that brought him nearly flush against his twin. "It's torture for them, the isolation. They'd fuck each other but I don't like it when they play without me, so if they know what's good for them, they'll just sit around and forget about anything else." Bringing his other hand up, he slid it around the back of his twin's neck. The mortal's breath caught at the touch and he shivered again.

Joxer was silent for a few moments, looking at his twin, the mortal with his face who responded so beautifully to his touch. Just a few more words in the right tone, a bit of stroking and caressing, and he'd have this mortal begging for him. He was already so far gone, eyes closed now, breathing shallow, and he was more than half hard, Joxer wasn't quite pressed against him but they were close enough that he could feel the interest. So very, very lovely, that face and body, and that decided it for Joxer.

"I was gonna suggest that I dress you up like Deimos -- color your hair, give you a tan and no one would think anything was up if you acted weird. But I wouldn't do that to me. We look too good to ruin it." He stroked the mortal's neck with the tips of his fingers, smiling when that brought a soft moan.

"I think I'm just gonna make you invisible. You'll have to stay where I put you and not move much, but you'll still get to see everything and none of the mortals will notice you. 'Course, if I feel any of the other gods heading our way, you're gonna find yourself back here real quick, okay?"

His twin just nodded, a slow, almost uncontrolled motion that ended with the mortal's head resting back against Joxer's hand, baring his throat. The implications of that.... It probably wasn't intentional but Joxer couldn't help responding, his cock hardening as he lowered his head to press his lips against the mortal's throat, right beneath his chin.

"This is, like, so dangerous," he whispered, the motion of his lips against the mortal's skin dragging another moan from his twin. "Could get you hurt, or killed. You shouldn't be going. It's way safer here."

A touch to his cheek brought Joxer's head up. He found the mortal looking at him through barely opened eyes, a faint flush adding a hint of color to pale skin.

"Will you be here?" his twin asked, fingers still resting on Joxer's cheek.

"No. I gotta go or things get too wild."

"Then I'm going too." And despite the breathy tones, the heated look in those familiar eyes, there was a conviction in his words that wouldn't be argued with.

Joxer smiled, pleased with the show of courage despite the inopportune timing of it. "Yeah, guess you are. But once you see what I do, you're not gonna like it," he promised, letting his fingers trail down that long, graceful throat. "Might not like me much either."

"But I do like--"

"Shh." Joxer cut him off. "Save it 'till you've seen what I got going on."

He meant to take them both to his main temple then. He really had every intention of releasing his twin and getting on with business. Instead he found himself leaning forward, one hand sliding around the mortal's arm, the other cupping the back of his head.

"Once more, then we go," he said, although the words more for himself than the mortal in his arms. Still, there was no protest when their lips touched. His twin didn't push him away, didn't try to turn his head, didn't struggle at all, instead parting his lips beneath Joxer's, welcoming Joxer's tongue with his own.

It wasn't frantic or even as passionate as their previous kiss, but to Joxer it still felt as though the temperature in the room had climbed sharply in the span of a few moments. The mortal's lips were soft, his breath sweet and everything else in between so damn wet and warm, and yet when Joxer finally drew back, he was aching in ways that had nothing to do with his cock. Whatever else his twin may've been through, Joxer could still taste such innocence on him. The urges to corrupt that and preserve it were equally strong.

He forced himself to release his twin, taking a step back, putting space between them before he took this any further. The mortal looked almost drugged, swaying in place. Joxer stopped himself from reaching out to catch him when his twin stumbled; his assistance wasn't necessary, the mortal was already regaining his balance and looking a little embarrassed at his clumsiness.

"Guess we might as well get on with it," Joxer said with a sigh of resignation.

Before the mortal could say anything they disappeared in a flash of light.

Joxer had to keep hold of his twin to stop him from falling when they appeared again. Last time he'd transported the mortal like this the man had been unconscious so he wasn't prepared for its disorienting effects.

"You okay?" Joxer asked, keeping a firm hold on the man's arms.

"I-I'm really dizzy," his twin responded with a dazed look.

"Give it a sec."

After a few moments his counterpart seemed to regain his balance and a bit of color returned to his face -- well, as much color as could be expected considering how pale he was naturally.

"Better?" Joxer asked, releasing him.

The mortal nodded, then he focused on something over Joxer's shoulder and his eyes widened. "Is that yours?" he asked in an impressed tone.

"Yeah." Joxer couldn't help smiling slightly, knowing what the mortal was seeing and proud of it.

"Wow! It's almost as big as one of Ares' temples!"

"Well, that's only because it's the main temple. All my other ones are smaller."

"Why's it gray? Not that gray's a bad color or anything," his twin quickly amended, "it's just I thought you'd want something...darker."

"You mean why isn't it black like Ares' are? I love black -- for my clothes, it's a bit much for temples -- but try telling Unc that. 'Course white is pushing it too. I think it's seriously tacky but Aphrodite and the rest of them on her side think it's sweet -- that's enough for me not to use it." Joxer smirked.

"So you went with gray. I really like it. And the rest of this...." he trailed off as he looked around them.

They were on the back lawn of the temple but even that was lovely. Stands of olive trees lined the grounds and walkways and beds of colorful flowers grew near the temple walls.

"It's all so beautiful!" the mortal exclaimed, grinning as he continued to look around. "I don't understand why you thought I wouldn't like this."

Joxer didn't say anything, he just waited. He wasn't stupid so his twin couldn't be either, it was only a matter of time until -- there it was. The man was frowning as he looked a bit more closely at a plant near them. It really was lovely with its dark coloring and purple blossoms. "That's nightshade," he observed, a touch of confusion in his tone. Then he took notice of the tall plants to their right. "And that's hemlock."

"Yeah, and it's all real pretty, isn't it?" Joxer responded.

The mortal nodded but he was still looking confused.

"See, I like pretty stuff. Unc thinks it's 'cause I hung with Cupid too much when I was younger, but he doesn't get it." Kneeling for a brief moment, Joxer picked a few of the green berries off of the nightshade plant. "In nature some of the most beautiful things are the most deadly," he said as he stood, "it's the perfect camouflage. That's what all this is about." He motioned vaguely to their surroundings. "It's all nice and bright and pretty on the surface, but if you look closer it gets a lot uglier, and way dangerous."

It appeared as though his twin was about to say something, but then he seemed to change his mind as he looked around again, this time without the enthusiasm he'd shown before.

"Hey," Joxer got his attention. "Remember, you're the one that wanted to look below the surface. This is just the beginning. Welcome to my world." He popped a couple of the berries in his mouth, smirking as he chewed and swallowed.

The mortal watched him silently for a few moments before finally speaking. "Are we going inside?" He nodded at the temple.

"Uh-huh." Shoving the last few berries into his mouth he draped an arm over his double's shoulders and began walking along the stone pathway that would take them around to the front of the temple. The mortal walked with him a few paces before speaking again.

"Did you this yourself? Your temple, the grounds, all of it?"

"Me? Well I suppose I could've, that's what some of the other gods do. Just a wave of your hand and it's 'instant temple' time." He allowed the scorn he felt for that type of laziness to creep into his voice. "But you tell me, what's more impressive: the fact that I can build a temple myself, or the fact that I got a few thousand mortals willing to do it for me?"

"Your followers built it?"

"Yeah. Their offerings paid for the materials and they built this one and all the rest of them. There's something you gotta understand about power -- most of the other gods don't seem to get it but that's their problem. Power's a lot more effective if you don't use it."

"Huh?"

The mortal was looking confused again and he looked so cute like that. Joxer hugged him closer, unable to keep the fond smile from briefly crossing his face.

"All us gods got power, you know? We can make stuff appear and disappear and all that; following me here?"

The mortal nodded although he didn't appear to understand what Joxer was getting at.

"Okay. Well when a god appears to mortals what's the usual routine? Lightning flashing, thunder booming, that whole gig. Sound familiar? You expect it, right?"

His twin nodded again.

"And there's the problem. Mortals expect it, even the ones that never saw a god before. They think 'god equals big display of power' and while it gets them scared and all, it doesn't really impress them. So I don't do it. Well, okay, when I'm with the other gods or alone or whatever, then I do the god routine, but not when I'm around my followers.

"I don't just 'appear', I walk into the temple. If I want something, a scroll or whatever, I don't transport it from the table to my hand, I get up and get it -- or I get someone else to do it. If I want some mortal dead I don't fry them with a bolt of lightning, I get one of my daggers and I slit their throat." He noticed his twin wince at that but continued on. This was what the mortal had wanted to know so that's what he was going to get. "There's only two times I ever use my power around 'em; when there's absolutely no other way to do something, or when I'm seriously ticked off."

"So all of your followers kind of see you like just...one of them?"

"Sorta. They know I'm a god but this way they can relate to me a lot better -- I'm not into that whole 'mysterious god' gig -- and when I do use my power they're not only scared they're majorly impressed. It really works good."

"They're afraid of you and they respect you?"

"Yeah. Totally cool, huh?"

His counterpart appeared to consider that for a few seconds before smiling slightly. "Totally," he agreed.

Joxer grinned. Even if his mortal was a bit shocked by what he'd learned so far he'd at least kept his sense of humor.

"Can I ask you about something you said earlier?" his twin questioned hesitantly.

"You know you can."

"Okay. Well, I was wondering, what happened in Corinth? You said something before about your temple there."

"Yeah. I had one. It wasn't a big one -- none of them are except this one -- but Jason didn't think it was 'appropriate.'" His sarcasm was biting as he spoke. "He thought it encouraged crime in the city. Please; crime's gonna be there no matter what he does."

"Is that why you're helping Ares?"

"No, I help Ares because he's the man, you know? He's the only thing in existence I care about even half as much as myself."

"Yeah, he's great," the mortal said with a sad sigh. "So what're you helping him do? Just forcing Jason to build a temple to him?"

Joxer chuckled. "Yep, that's the official story."

"You said that before. What d'you mean?"

He didn't resist the impulse. "Unc's in love," he replied in a sing-song voice, then he began giggling.

"I don't get it."

"He's got the hots in a big way for a demi-god."

"Hercules?"

Joxer stopped walking and stared at his twin incredulously, not believing he could actually suggest that. The mortal didn't seem to see the problem though.

"Am I the only one seeing the 'yuck' factor here?" Joxer asked.

"Well it wouldn't happen in my world, but I don't know about here," his twin explained.

"Ares wouldn't fuck Hercules to save his own life," Joxer stated. "Does that help clear things up?"

The mortal nodded.

"Good. So anyway, Unc wants to make his little love-bird the new king of Corinth."

"Why? So he'd have total control over Corinth?"

"No way," Joxer said seriously as they started walking again. "Ares can't stand incompetent rulers, or weak ones that let themselves be controlled. He may be boinking this guy but he wouldn't put the dude on the throne if he couldn't rule.

"See, the guy's already a king. He rules Phlegra and he's pretty good at it too. He'd do even better with a bigger kingdom to rule. Ares just needs to get him on the throne."

"So why doesn't he just kill Jason and put this other man in his place?" asked the mortal.

"It's more complicated than that. Jason's old lady kicked the bucket a few years back without putting out any brats and he hasn't got hitched since so there's no heirs to worry about, which is good, but it could still be a problem. Now, what Ares needs is to make sure his love-toy gets named as heir so it's all legitimate-like."

"How could he manage that?"

"It shouldn't be too hard butchya never know. He's got Discord planting ideas in the right people's heads, so once Jason's outta the way Unc's sweetie'll be asked to take the throne. It'll all look good and no one's gonna suspect that Ares is behind it all -- or why he's behind it. Even Discord just thinks it's a power-play, she doesn't know that he's actually in love with the guy. 'Course she'll figure it out eventually, so will some of the other gods, but by then it'll be too late, it'll be done."

"It doesn't bother you that Ares loves someone else?"

"Why should it? I'm his nephew, he can't get rid of me. Besides, he likes me and he loves fucking me; he's not gonna stop."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. I didn't stop screwing him when I fell in love. It's just the way we gods do things." Joxer shrugged. He didn't know any other way to explain what the rest of them took for granted.

"You mean that even if Ares had loved me in my world he still would've slept with other people?"

"I dunno. Look, the people in this world are basically the same as their counterparts in your world, but situations aren't. So maybe your Ares is the same personality-wise as mine, but maybe the traditions of your gods aren't. It could be that if he falls in love he goes monogamous. I wouldn't know. Just because that's not a natural word for me to include in my vocab doesn't mean it's got anything to do with your world. See what I'm getting at?"

"I think so. It sounds like Jason's the same person here as he is in my world, only here he's still king. Makes sense."

"Good. By the way, just who exactly is king of Corinth in your world?"

"Iphicles."

For a moment Joxer just stared at him. "You serious?" he finally asked.

"Yes."

Joxer giggled. "That's funny."

"Um, why?"

"'Cause Iphicles is Unc's boy-toy."

"The one he wants on the throne?"

"Yeah. Weird, huh?"

"But Iphicles isn't a demi-god -- not in my world. He's Hercules' half-brother."

"It's that different situation thing," Joxer pointed out. "They're half-brothers here too but as best we can figure, Hades is his Dad."

"Hades?"

"Uh-huh. Don't know the details, don't care either. So I got Hercules as an uncle and Iphicles as a first cousin, once removed -- I think. It's pretty strange."

"Doesn't that make Iphicles related to Ares?"

"Makes him Ares' cousin. Kinda confusing, isn't it?"

"Just a bit," the mortal replied with a slight smile.

"Oh, here you go," Joxer changed the subject as they reached the front of the temple. "There's Marathon," he motioned off to the left. "Uncle Ares has a temple around here too. You can't miss it. It's the big, black, depressing heap of marble over that way," he pointed back behind them.

While his twin stopped to stare at the city sprawling out into the distance, Joxer took note of who exactly was entering and his temple. Visiting his temples wasn't a requirement for his followers. All he demanded was the occasional prayer offered up to him in thanks for their continued good fortune. If they chose to come and leave offerings that was fine with him too. If he liked it there was a chance he'd pay them some special attention -- unless it was a truly original or impressive offering, then they got his undivided attention.

As if on cue he spotted them. "Well, well. Lookie what we got here." A sly grin crept onto his face. "Joxer," he got his double's attention. "What d'you see over there?" He pointed to the pair standing on the other side of the temple grounds in the shade of some olive trees.

"It...looks like Auto," the mortal replied, squinting to see the distance, "and that's Salmoneus, I guess. I never met him but that really looks like the descriptions I heard."

"Yeah, that's my boys," Joxer replied with a mixture of humor and true pride. "The King of Thieves and the Sultan of Salesman. Two of my favorites."

"What d'you mean?"

"Right now I got five favorites outta all my followers. There used to be seven but, well...nevermind," Joxer didn't know why he'd even mentioned it. "Auto and Sal are a couple of my favs."

"Iolaus used to be one of them, didn't he? One of your favorites?"

Joxer nodded, bracing himself for the question he knew was coming next and wishing he'd never mentioned this.

"If he was the sixth, then who was the seventh?"

"He's dead." Joxer wanted that to be the end of it but he knew it wouldn't be. His twin was too curious.

"How--"

"He just died," Joxer snapped. "He was alive one second and dead the next and there wasn't a fucking thing I could do about it!" Dropping his arm from the man's shoulders he took a deep breath and tried to rein in the emotions that had begun to surface.

"Why couldn't you get him back from the underworld?"

The mortal was persistent but his tone was gentle. At least he seemed to realize that this was an extremely sore spot with Joxer. Now if he'd only drop the entire subject.

Failure of any kind was difficult for Joxer to admit, even when there was nothing he could've done to prevent it. But somehow it wasn't as hard to tell his twin about it. Painful, yes, but he felt none of the shame he would've experienced while relating the event to another god.

"Somewhere in some other world his counterpart died, so he died here. It happens all the time with mortals. The only way I could bring him back in this world is to find the world where his counterpart died and resurrect that version of him first, otherwise he'd just die all over again if I tried to resurrect him here. It's all connected somehow and I don't get it and I'm done talking about it." His control over his emotions was slipping again and he wasn't about to let anyone see him lose it, not even his twin.

"Okay," the mortal at his side agreed. "So tell me about Salmoneus. I can see why Auto is worshipping you, but I don't understand why Salmoneus would be."

Grateful for the shift in subject, Joxer managed a slight smile. "Yeah, well, Sal didn't get it either. He really thought he was a legitimate salesman. See, Hermes still has all the honest people worshipping him -- merchants, travelers, and all them; if they're completely honest then he's still their god, but I got the rest of them."

"Salmoneus isn't honest?"

"Oh, he's not a con-man or a swindler, at least not totally. He stretches the truth a little too much sometimes and his greed blinds him to details he really should pay more attention to. But he knows he does it and he keeps on doing it, so that makes him mine. Not that he was all that happy about it at first, but he got with the idea pretty quick."

Watching Autolycus and Salmoneus, Joxer could see that they were in the middle of what appeared to be a heated argument. With those two it wasn't exactly a surprise. Still, he was curious.

"Let's go check out what they're yelling about," he said, setting off towards the two of them. He waited until his twin fell into step beside him before continuing his explanation. "Anyway, apparently one day Sal went to one of the little temples Hermes has scattered around and flat-out asked one of the priests why his prayers weren't being answered. Well, Hermes actually showed up and answered him. Sal really wasn't too pleased to be finding out that he's considered 'dishonest.'"

"So he tried to change his ways?"

"He told me later that after Hermes' visit he spent a few hours doing some serious soul-searching, decided he liked himself just the way he was, and since I was his new god he set out to impress me."

"Did he?"

"He sold Crete to King Minos."

"Um, Minos is the King of Crete."

"No kidding." Joxer chuckled. "No one's topped that scam yet, and it wasn't really even a scam. Sal convinced Minos that Crete belonged to the people so he should be paying them for the use of 'their' land."

"That actually sounds fair," the mortal said with a trace of incredulity.

"Scary, huh? I'm always gonna remember that day perfectly. Sal walking straight up to me and handing me the bill of sale, then dropping the bag of dinars he got as a sales commission on my altar and walking outta the temple without saying a word. It was totally unbelievable!"

"He sounds a lot more confident than the Salmoneus in my world."

"Yeah, he's pretty ballsy. So's Auto. If they actually learned to cooperate they'd be dangerous."

"How long have they been worshipping you?"

"It's only been about seven years for Sal but I've had Auto for going on twenty. That's part of the problem they got with each other. Auto was used to being number one with me and then Sal came along and started giving him some competition."

"You're, uh...you know, with them both?" His twin gave him a dubious glance.

"Nah, I just get it on with Auto -- but you know, I don't think I'd mind if I thought Sal was interested," Joxer said thoughtfully.

"You're serious?"

The mortal sounded so surprised that Joxer gave it some serious thought right then, just for the shock value.

"Auto's a major stud," he said after a few moments. "You gotta be blind not to see that so the attraction's obvious, but it's different with Sal. He just kinda grows on you. First he's annoying and then suddenly you realize that you actually like him. After that, well, you start to think that he's kinda on the charming side and maybe he's sorta cute too. It just goes on from there."

"I never thought about it that way."

Actually, neither had Joxer, but now that he had he decided that he had a point. Salmoneus really wasn't all that bad to look at, plus he was a great salesman, in a sneaky sort of way -- which really appealed to him. Could be he needed to give it some more thought. Maybe he'd been missing out on something.

"Remember you said there's different kinds of mortals?" his counterpart interrupted his musings as they neared the arguing pair. "So where do Auto and Salmoneus fit in?"

"In the last category," Joxer replied. "They're like my favorite toys, only I'm never gonna get tired of them so they're not gonna get tossed aside someday or something."

"Even when they get older?"

"Oh, come on. You really think Auto's gonna let himself get old and gray? He's gonna steal one of Hesperides' apples, if he hasn't already -- and he'll get one for Sal too."

"Why would he do that? They look like they can't stand each other."

"Yeah, they really seem to get on each others nerves, don't they? Maybe a little too much, you think?" Joxer raised an eyebrow meaningfully at his twin.

"What?"

"I got a bet going with Cupid -- now that we're talking again. He says Auto and Sal aren't gonna be anything but good friends. I say it's true love waiting to happen. We'll see who's right."

"Auto and Salmoneus? You're sure? I mean, Cupid's the God of Love so maybe he knows best."

"Yeah, and these're my guys, I know them best." Joxer stopped a few paces from the two arguing men, pulling his mortal to a halt alongside him.

"You tell him!" Autolycus almost shouted.

"I'm not telling him. You tell him!" Salmoneus replied in an equally loud voice.

"We agreed that you were gonna tell him!"

"I never agreed to that, you just never gave me a chance to say anything!"

"Well I'm still not telling him!"

"It was your idea in the first place!"

"And it was a great idea, but you screwed it up!"

"It was a stupid idea and it was you that screwed it up!"

Joxer took a quick glance into their minds and his eyes narrowed. "Well, they're right about one thing: I'm really not happy about this," he muttered.

"Huh?"

"Oh," Joxer turned his attention to his double. "They went after the Chronos stone. Again. And they failed. Again."

"The Chronos stone? Auto stole that in my world, but it was destroyed."

"Well this one's all in one piece and I really wouldn't mind having it. If I took it myself the other gods would have the right to object, but if it was given to me as an offering it'd be rightfully mine -- so the guys got a point not wanting to tell me. I'm definitely disappointed with them."

"What're you gonna do?"

"Probably nothing. I'll make 'em sweat a little about it but I like them too much to get seriously angry. Besides, they'll get it for me soon enough."

"Look, say what you want, I'm not telling him," Salmoneus said.

"One of us has to!" Autolycus insisted.

"Not me."

"Okay," Autolycus said reasonably, "let's play for it. Rock, parchment, dagger. Best two outta three, loser tells him."

"All right," Salmoneus agreed.

Eyeing each other suspiciously the two men began the contest. It was over in seconds. Autolycus won.

Salmoneus stared at the triumphantly grinning thief for a moment. "You cheated," he suddenly announced.

"I--what? You can't cheat at rock, parchment, dagger! Tell me how I could do that!"

"I don't know how but you did, I know it!"

"Well this is gonna go on a while," Joxer shook his head. "Let's go check out what's going on inside."

Looking over at the large number of people entering and leaving the temple, Joxer decided not to even bother with trying to work his way through there. "Hold on," he warned his twin, wrapping an arm around the man's waist, "we're gonna do the disappearing thing again."

"Where're we going?"

"The dais at the back of the temple. I'm gonna drop you there and come back out for Abbottus and Costellocles here," the sarcasm in his tone was light and touched with fondness.

"I think you'd better hurry."

He followed the mortal's gaze and wasn't surprised to see the two men in the process of trying to strangle each other.

"Oh, they always do that, don't worry about it," Joxer dismissed it with a shrug, then focused on the dais and transported them there.

When they appeared, his twin looked dizzy again but not as much as before.

"You get used to it," Joxer promised. "Now have a seat and try to relax." He motioned to a small marble bench to the right of the dais. "It's not totally comfy but it's someplace to sit. We're gonna be here a while so you'll need it. Be back in a few."

With a thought Joxer was back outside not far from where Autolycus and Salmoneus were currently sitting on the ground. They were still glaring at each other as they tried to catch their breaths, rubbing their sore throats.

Joxer took a moment to just stand there and look them. They really did make a great team but they were the only ones who didn't seem to know that. They kept allowing their egos to get in the way of what should've been a great friendship -- or love. He found it fascinating to watch considering that there'd once been a time when he hadn't believed that there was a mortal in existence that could match Autolycus' ego.

Autolycus had engineered their first meeting, setting the tone for their relationship in the years to follow. Joxer didn't even remember what he'd been doing at the time, he just remembered clearly that summons -- and that's exactly what it had been. Not a prayer or a request, a mortal had dared to summon him to his own temple in the dead of night.

"Hey, Joxer! I'm Autolycus, the King of Thieves and I've got the best offering you're ever gonna get so get your butt down here."

No one spoke to him like that. He'd fully intended to kill the impudent little bastard in some excruciatingly painful manner but when he'd arrived in his temple he'd been too surprised by what he found.

A small fortune in gold and jewels had been piled at the base of his alter, but sitting casually on the alter itself was a man, a very handsome man wearing nothing but a look of extreme self-satisfaction.

"Come and get it if you want it," the man had said as though it made no difference to him what Joxer did. "If not, you can keep the loot -- I can always get more -- but I'm outta here."

It had simply been too insulting, and too much of a challenge, for him to ignore. When he'd grabbed the mortal by the throat he'd been impressed at the man's lack of fear but he hadn't let it show.

"You black out once and you're dead, got it?"

Those were the only terms he'd set. Then he'd fucked the mortal, violently and unrelentingly, until dawn, hours later. The man actually lived through it and remained conscious, which was impressive enough, but he'd had some spirit left too.

Joxer had watched in amazement as the mortal had managed to sit up -- and that had to have really hurt.

"I thought you were a god," he'd said, his voice rough, almost broken sounding from the screams that had repeatedly been torn from him, "is that all you've got?"

With that, Autolycus won. Joxer had spent the next few minutes just lying there laughing. When he'd finally gotten control of himself he'd healed his new follower and they'd just talked for the rest of the day.

Joxer realized now that Autolycus was perhaps the closest thing to a friend he had. He certainly valued Autolycus and not just as an object of entertainment. They understood each other, enjoyed each other's company, and maybe there was even an element of trust in there somewhere. He hadn't harmed Autolycus since that first night and he really couldn't imagine doing so again. Actually it was a bit on the disturbing side when he thought about it.

He'd watched them long enough. Too much longer and they'd either start trying to kill each other again or they'd give up altogether and leave the temple grounds, hoping that he wouldn't find out about their failure. Joxer knew he'd really get angry if they did that. He gave his favorites a whole lot more leeway than the rest of his followers, but it had its limits so he needed to step in now before these two let their egos make bad decisions for them.

No flashes of light or anything else that would draw attention, he was just suddenly visible. Not that the two men noticed. They'd started arguing again and were focused completely on each other.

Shaking his head in exasperation Joxer walked over to them and stood between them, effectively drawing their attention. Silence abruptly fell as they stared up at their god, twin looks of complete innocence suddenly plastered on their faces.

"Now how many times do I have to tell you two to play nice?" he said with mock sternness.

"We were just having a little disagreement," Autolycus began.

"But we've solved it now," Salmoneus put in. "Auto'll tell you all about it."

"Oh, come on, Sal, you tell it so much better than I do," Autolycus said, glancing around Joxer at his companion. "I think you should tell him."

"I couldn't do that. You've got a much better perspective on it than I do. You tell him."

Joxer saw where this was going and quickly headed it off. "Hey! Did I just disappear or something? Because it's sounding a lot like you're not seeing me standing here."

The two men hastily assured him that that wasn't the case. It was Salmoneus that finally found the courage to confess to him.

"Joxer; Auto and I, well, we had some trouble. We tried to--"

"Wait a second, Sal," Autolycus interrupted, gazing up at Joxer suspiciously. "You know, don't you?" he asked, although it was more of a statement.

Joxer smirked at him. "Now what could you possibly be talking about, Autolycus?"

"I knew it! Since when do you not know what we're doing?"

"You knew and you let us go through all this?" Salmoneus asked.

"It's fun watching you two squirm. Besides, it wasn't my choice. You shoulda told me right off instead of making fools of yourselves arguing about it. Next time remember that. 'Course there wouldn't be a next time if you two'd work together better."

Autolycus cursed under his breath but said nothing else. Salmoneus was muttering to himself. Joxer had a point but neither of them wanted to admit it.

"Now that can't be the only thing you guys have been up to lately so why don't we head inside and you can tell me about it."

"You know what we've been doing," Autolycus pointed out.

"True, but I like hearing it from you two, plus it's been a couple months since I've seen you." Joxer reached down and grabbing the front of Autolycus' shirt, pulled him up to his feet. "I missed you, Auto," he said softly, then pulled him into a long, open-mouthed kiss. When he drew back, Autolycus was gasping for air and obviously aroused.

"I'll just go on in and wait for you," Salmoneus said from behind them.

Joxer suddenly recalled his conversation of a few minutes ago and his smirk widened as a particularly wicked thought occurred to him.

"You wouldn't!" Auto hissed.

Autolycus had an uncanny ability to know what Joxer was thinking. Joxer had given up trying to figure it out years ago; it was just something interesting he accepted. Now he didn't bother answering, with words at least.

Turning, he found Salmoneus getting to his feet. He grabbed the mortal's arm and helped him, pulling him the rest of the way up.

"Know what, Sal?" he said, moving his hand up to the back of the man's neck. "I missed you too."

Salmoneus' eyes widened in shock but before he could make a sound Joxer was kissing him, with just as much passion and enthusiasm as he had Autolycus. When Joxer finally ended it, his arm was the only thing holding up the stunned mortal. Autolycus was just staring at him in mute disbelief.

"No use just standing 'round out here," Joxer commented as though nothing were out of the ordinary. "Let's go in and see what everyone else is up to, huh?"

Casually putting an arm around Salmoneus, he pulled the mortal along with him as he began walking. When Autolycus didn't immediately follow he glanced back without stopping.

"Coming?" he asked, smiling when Autolycus began walking behind them.

It was good to keep mortals off-balance, especially intelligent ones like these two.

"So tell me about the stuff you've been doing," he said, suppressing a grin when the usually-eloquent Salmoneus began stumbling over his words.

By the time they walked into the temple, Salmoneus had managed to get it together enough to sound coherent. He was explaining about a deal he'd made with an artist to help the man sell his work -- for a "small" commission of course. As usual, when he started in on the subject of money, Salmoneus forgot about everything else, including what had been troubling him only a few seconds before.

Joxer watched with barely-concealed amusement as Salmoneus went into great detail about the financial arrangement, his eyes sparkling at each mention of "money." He was definitely funny, and when Joxer thought about it he found that he did enjoy the man's company. Maybe there really was something there to think about.

When they reached the dais he stopped. Salmoneus took the cue and broke off in the middle of his story, looking at him expectantly, and not without a little trepidation.

"Sal, remember what I told you last time about these 'clothes' -- I guess you'd call them -- of yours?" Joxer asked, motioning with obvious distaste to the impossibly gaudy orange-colored toga Salmoneus wore.

"Um, you said not to show up here again without getting a better fashion sense?"

"Yeah. So what part of that didn't you understand?" Joxer crossed his arms, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"But..this is all the rage in Rome!" Salmoneus protested.

"This look like Rome to you?" Joxer replied dryly.

Salmoneus shook his head, smiling nervously.

"Okay, then you remember what I said I'd do if you showed up like this again?"

Salmoneus nodded, his expression turning from nervousness to outright dread. "You, uh, said you'd start dressing me yourself."

"Good memory. Too bad it didn't kick in earlier. Now go fetch me some grapes," Joxer pointed to the doorway behind the dais. "You'll find some clothes in there too. Put them on and get back out here. And make it quick, or I'll come after you."

Salmoneus took on such a look of martyrdom that Joxer had to laugh. "Quit worrying," he said, giving him a push towards the doorway. "I got excellent taste." He waited until Salmoneus had made it past the throne before continuing. "I just know pastels are your colors, and those spiked heels are gonna be like way too hot." The expression of disbelief and horror that Salmoneus gave him sent him into a fit of giggles. Teasing his mortals really put him in a good mood.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Autolycus demanded, his voice too low for anyone but Joxer to hear him.

Joxer turned to look at him. Leaning in close, he smirked. "Whatever I want to, Auto baby." He touched his lips to Autolycus', barely brushing against them before turning away and walking up to his throne.

Dropping into the comfortable seat he motioned for Autolycus to come to him.

"You know I don't like being questioned," he said quietly when Autolycus stood before him.

"Look, I'm sorry. It's just that you've never done anything like--"

"Auto," Joxer interrupted, his tone harder than before. "Sit." He pointed to the floor.

Autolycus didn't look happy about it but he knew better than to argue, so he sat.

"No, facing away from me," Joxer instructed. "Good," he said once Autolycus had obeyed him. "Now move back towards me just a little bit..there, that's about right." Satisfied, he lifted his feet and placed them on Autolycus' left shoulder, crossing his ankles.

"Oh, yeah," he sighed in contentment. "That's nice."

Auto muttered something.

"What was that?"

"Just saying how happy I am that you're happy," the mortal replied with false brightness.

"Uh-huh."

A little humiliation was good for mortals with egos like the one Autolycus had, it kept things in perspective for them.

Glancing over to his right, Joxer found his twin sitting where he'd been told to, watching the proceedings with surprised interest. He was willing to bet that in his counterpart's world no one had ever put Autolycus in his place, at least not quite as effectively as this. Catching his twin's eye, Joxer smiled slightly.

"We're waiting on you, Sal," he called out, not taking his eyes off his counterpart.

"Come on, Joxer. Don't make me wear this," the whine came from the doorway.

"Get out here," Joxer ordered, turning his gaze to the crowd before him. They were all waiting for him to get things underway.

It was a few seconds before he sensed that Salmoneus was finally standing beside the throne.

"You get my grapes?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Cool. Then you can stand there and feed them to me."

He wasn't usually so lazy but he felt like it today. Autolycus glanced back at him, his expression betraying his dissatisfaction with the entire situation. He started to look away but something seemed to register with him, then he was staring openly at Salmoneus.

"What're you looking at?" Salmoneus demanded.

"You," Autolycus replied frankly.

Looking at the mortal standing beside him, Joxer concluded that he'd been right. The light blue shirt looked good on Salmoneus and the black leather pants didn't hurt anything either. It was overall a plain outfit, something that had to be a first for this particular mortal, and he didn't look at all pleased with it.

"Cheer up," Joxer said brightly. "You look good."

"Don't even think about laughing," Salmoneus warned Autolycus.

"Uh, no, actually, I'm with Joxer on this one," Autolycus said, sounding surprised at his own words. He shook his head and looked away. "Who would've thought?" He shrugged.

"See," Joxer nudged Sal with his elbow, "it's all cool. Now are you just gonna stand there or am I getting my grapes sometime today?"

Grumbling to himself, Salmoneus started to hold out a grape, then stopped short hesitating.

Joxer rolled his eyes. "Get off the paranoid trip, huh? I'm not gonna bite."

It didn't seem to do much to reassure Salmoneus but he began feeding Joxer the grapes anyway. Joxer was tempted to do something truly naughty; lick Salmoneus' fingers, nibble a little at them, but he decided he didn't need Salmoneus passing out on him -- he already had one mortal that did that well enough -- so he left him alone. For the moment.

"It's been a long week, guys," he said with a sigh in between grapes. "Went from being totally bored to being way busy. Things are looking up."

The two men didn't respond to that and Joxer didn't expect them to. Sometimes when he was here he just liked to talk out loud without having someone answer him. But he'd spent enough time lounging around already. There were dozens of mortals waiting to talk to him for one reason or another and he had to do his job, or lose their respect.

"Okay," he said loudly. The noise in the room died down some as attention focused on him. "We're open for business so let's get things moving, huh? I'm not gonna hang here all day."

That was the truth. He could rarely stand more than three or four hours of this and that was pushing it. Just because he knew everyone that worshipped him didn't mean he liked them. When he started to feel the urge to decorate his temple with their corpses then it was time to bail.

For about an hour or so things were pretty routine. He had to mediate disputes between his followers -- not that he'd mind if they just settled it by killing each other, but if he allowed too much of that he'd soon end up with a shortage of worshippers. There were the usual number of overachievers that simply had to present their offerings to him personally, each insisting that theirs was the best and that they were the best in their field. He only tolerated their boasting up to a certain point, then he set them straight with a few cutting remarks -- that part he kind of enjoyed.

Then there were the new mortals, the ones that wanted to be counted amongst his followers. That was one of the few rules he had, he always wanted to meet his new worshippers, that way he'd know who they were. That was one of the reasons he showed up at his main temple twice a week on a regular schedule. It was bothersome but necessary. Plus there was usually something interesting in the whole ordeal. This time it was two women wanting to be priestesses in his temple. Definitely...interesting. He approved it and sent them off to see the head priestess, making a mental note to "personally" check in on them a bit later.

Things quickly turned dull again after that -- until he caught sight of two unexpected arrivals near the front of the temple. He never actually expected any of his favorites to show up. If they did then that was great, maybe they'd have some fun. If they didn't then it was no problem. They all turned up eventually, at some time or another. It was just rare for this many of them to show up on the same day. Four out of the five. Pretty decent. If the fifth showed up then that was definitely cause for a serious party.

Joxer motioned for the two men to come forward, then turned his attention back to the girl before him asking to be recognized as one of his followers.

He already knew he'd grant her request. She wasn't a great thief but she was homeless and way too young. Her only other option was prostitution and he liked to think he was a better choice than that. He wouldn't admit it but he did this kind of thing a bit too often, taking in mortals who really didn't belong simply because they had no other place to go -- that was what he'd done with Iolaus and look where it'd gotten him. He needed to find a way to get off this mercy trip. Ares didn't do it so he shouldn't either. But for the moment it could wait. He accepted the girl and dismissed her, his attention already on the two men approaching the dais.

"Autolycus." The taller of the two greeted Autolycus with a nod. "I see you're coming up in the world."

"Fuck you too, Rafe," Autolycus said pleasantly.

Joxer didn't know what it was with these two but they'd never gotten along. Rafe thought any idiot could be a thief so he had no respect for Autolycus, and Autolycus thought only cowards conned people, so they were always at each other's throats, proverbially at least, and Joxer didn't care for it. They could go after each other all they wanted when he wasn't around but when they were in his presence he wanted them to at least tolerate each other. It made life a whole lot simpler, plus that way he didn't have to listen to them each bitching about how they got on each other's nerves. Time to end it before Autolycus decided to try to shut Rafe up in a more physical manner.

"This is just going to do wonders for your reputation," Rafe continued to needle Autolycus in a completely polite manner.

Before Autolycus could reply, Joxer cut in. "Maybe you should worry more about your rep, Rafe. Like what'd happen to it if I bent you over the nearest bench and fucked you in front of everyone here."

That got the crowd's attention. All conversation ceased as they waited to see what their god decided. Rafe had paled and Autolycus was smirking. It wasn't a bluff or an idle threat, Joxer had done it a few times before with others to demonstrate a point, or just for the Tartarus of it. It was an extremely effective way to keep control of certain mortals.

"You can't do that!"

Joxer looked at Salmoneus in surprise, wondering just when the mortal had developed a deathwish.

"You wanna say that again?" Joxer asked. "Don't think I heard you right."

"Well, I mean, of course you can do it," Salmoneus explained. "I just really wish you'd wait until I have a chance to sell tickets to it, that's all."

For a moment Joxer just stared at him, then he began laughing hard.

"I'm serious!" Salmoneus protested.

"I know you are, Sal, that's what makes it so funny!" Joxer managed to say while still laughing.

That broke the sudden tension in the room and realizing that nothing was going to happen, the rest of the people in the temple returned to what they'd been doing before: making deals, picking pockets, stabbing each other in the back both figuratively and literally -- the body count was usually fairly impressive by the end of the day if Joxer didn't keep a close eye on things.

"So what'd you guys need?" Joxer asked the two con-men before him as he began to calm down.

Rafe and Eldon looked at each other, then back at him. "Could we have a moment?" asked Rafe.

"Go for it," Joxer shrugged.

The two men turned away and began conversing in low tones. Curious, Joxer focused on what they were saying.

"Come on, Rafe, we've got to do it."

"True, but who's going to tell him?"

"Does it matter? He's gonna find out sooner or later anyway."

"Yeah, good point. Okay, let's do this."

The two men turned back to look at Joxer, both wearing too-pleasant smiles.

"I take it this isn't good news?" He asked, although the answer was already obvious.

"We got caught in Corinth," said Rafe. "It didn't have anything to do with the con we were running. Jason just put out the order to jail everyone associated with you."

Whoa. That was completely unexpected. In fact it didn't make any sense at all. The only thing the king could hope to accomplish was making Joxer angry, and if that was his goal then he'd succeeded.

Swinging his feet off of Autolycus' shoulder, Joxer stood and walked over to the two men. "Anyone else escape besides you two?"

Eldon nodded. "But not everyone."

Considering the enormous amount of followers he had, Joxer was surprised that Jason had attempted a move like this at all. It had no strategic value and really could only do him more harm than good. "Do you know if Hercules was in Corinth when this happened?" he asked, walking around the two of them, stopping behind them.

"We heard rumors he was but we never saw him," Rafe replied.

"He was there," Joxer said. It was the only thing that could explain it. Hercules must have told Jason what had happened to Iolaus. The three of them were close friends and what the God of Mischief had done would make Jason angry, maybe angry enough to do something stupid like this. But whatever the reason, Joxer couldn't just sit by and let this happen. He'd look weak.

In order to please Ares he hadn't interfered with Corinth much, not even after his temple had been destroyed, but now this was personal. "Okay," he said, coming to a couple decisions. "I'll see if I can put a little misery in Jason's life. If I can't whack him then I can at least make him wish he hadn't fucked with me."

"What about the others he had jailed?" asked Eldon.

"If he doesn't kill them then I will," Joxer said coldly, turning his attention to the other people in the temple. "Anyone who worships me oughtta be able to get out of a prison. The only excuse you could have is death, and if you're any good you should be able to escape that too."

He was angry. He recognized that and the fact that he was tempted to make some very rash decisions based on that feeling. He had to have room to do some more thinking before he did something stupid.

"Everyone out," he suddenly ordered.

No one questioned it and if there were any complaints they were wisely unvoiced.

"Not you guys," he amended, turning to face the four men on the dais. "I gotta job for you." It was petty and spiteful and if it worked, probably highly effective. "Jason's gotta get a new army after that thing with Mycenae. It's gonna be hard to do it without anything in the royal treasury, don't you think?" he smirked.

"You want us to go into Corinth and wipe out the treasury?" Autolycus asked in disbelief.

"Steal the whole fucking palace if you want! Just make life impossible for that son-of-a-bitch, got it? And one other thing, you're all working together on this one."

The men all started to protest at once, then quickly shut up when Joxer's eyes narrowed.

"I'm not in the mood to argue here. You're all going and if you play this right you could walk away with a fortune, but you gotta work together for it. Now get going," he ordered.

As they went past him he was tempted to announce that he'd kill them if they failed, but it was an impulse he quickly shoved aside. It was based on strong emotion and it was foolish. These men were some of his best assests, not to mention that he actually liked them. So not only would it be a bad idea to kill them, he doubted that he'd even want to do it. It was better to just let them go and say nothing.

When the echo of their footsteps had faded and the temple was empty, Joxer found that he was still very angry. Sending his men to Corinth to exact some measure of revenge hadn't done a thing to calm him down. He needed a way to work out the anger, like maybe a bit of senseless slaughter.

"I don't understand. Why is Jason doing this to you?"

Or maybe fucking someone into unconsciousness.

"Hello, Joxer," he said quietly, looking up at his counterpart. "I forgot you were there."

"I tried to be quiet," the mortal responded. "You seemed pretty upset."

"I am. Jason's messing with me because of what I did with Iolaus, but he shoulda left me out of it. Now he's gonna pay for this."

"And that's not making you feel any better?" His twin frowned.

"No," Joxer growled. "I want him dead! But I can't touch him. If I screwed up Unc's plans he'd have me drawn and quartered and I hate it when that happens."

"Um, yeah, I can see your point."

"So now I've gotta sit around and wait for my guys to take care of things," Joxer said bitterly as he walked up to his twin. "I gotta rely on mortals for revenge. This totally sucks!"

"But...that's life," the mortal said hesitantly.

Joxer smirked. "Yeah. It is. So, you wanna get outta here?" he changed the subject abruptly but his mood remained constant.

"I don't wanna go back to that room you locked me in."

"You aren't gonna let that drop, are you? Okay, fine. There's a nice room back there." He motioned to the doorway behind the throne where he'd sent Salmoneus earlier. "We can crash there for a while."

Nodding his assent, the mortal turned and headed for the doorway.

"So did you learn what you wanted to know about me?" Joxer asked as he followed a few steps behind, watching the man's ass appreciatively.

"Yes."

"Too bad I had to break up the party so soon. Another hour or so and you would've got to see me kill some people. Believe me, you haven't lived 'till you've seen me rip someone's heart right outta their chest -- even Ares is impressed by that one." The longer he looked at his twin the harder he was getting and the more uncomfortable he was becoming. There was a definite disadvantage to form-fitting leather pants.

"I saw enough."

"Oh, but there's so much more to see," Joxer said under his breath as he entered the room after the mortal.

"I think I finally understand you," his twin was saying, "and--and wow, this place is neat!" He looked around the richly furnished room in awe. Joxer had decided early on that a little decadence in the right place was a good thing, and a bedroom was definitely the right place. Building his temples and keeping them in repair didn't come close to draining the funds donated by his followers, of course he saw to it that his priests and priestesses were well kept but that still left him with plenty of mortal coinage and sometimes he used that for his private rooms.

It wasn't just a big bed or the bath set into the floor, although that had to be impressive enough to a mortal who probably never counted on having a roof over his head each night, the room itself was decorated in a fashion that would've made the love gods proud, had the color scheme been in pink and white. Joxer liked his luxuries, couches and chairs with over-stuffed cushions, huge tapestries on the walls and murals stretching across the ceiling, patterned marble on the floor, and everything in carefully neutral shades. It was lavish without being gaudy, something the other side of his family couldn't manage but Joxer had perfected.

"Yeah," he agreed with the mortal. "I got everything in here. But tell me what you think of the bed."

This time the tone of his voice betrayed what he was thinking and his twin looked at him apprehensively. Joxer just smirked and shut the door. No one would dare to interrupt him when the door was closed so they'd have all the privacy they'd need.

The mortal swallowed hard. "Um, I don't think--"

"Good. Keep not thinking and we'll do just fine." Joxer grabbed him and pulled him into a hard kiss, holding him tight, not giving him room to struggle.

He really had wanted to delay this, take it slower, but he needed it now. His moods could change fairly rapidly and he was no longer angry, just so damned turned on that he was beginning to think that his cock was going to poke a hole in his pants if he didn't get naked quick. Pulling back long enough to let his twin gasp for air, he made their clothes disappear.

"Oh, yeah," he groaned. Skin on skin, there was nothing like it.

The mortal in his arms looked a bit dazed and more than a bit shocked, but Joxer felt the man's cock begin to stiffen between them.

"Feel good?" he asked, then kissed him again before his twin could reply. It was a rhetorical question anyway.

With a thought he moved them to the bed. Stretching out on top of the mortal, Joxer ignored the man's attempts to push him away. Still kissing him, barely letting him breathe, he began moving against him, and it felt incredible.

His twin managed to finally turn his face away from the kisses. "Wait!" he gasped.

Talk about asking the impossible. "What?" Joxer asked, another groan escaping him as their cocks ground together.

"Oh gods!" the mortal moaned. "Please, wait!"

The body beneath him was just as aroused as he was but that voice had an edge of fear to it. It took an incredible effort but Joxer managed to rein in his lust enough to slow the pace a bit, but there was no way this side of Tartarus he was going to be able to stop.

"Why me?" his twin asked.

"Can't this wait?" Joxer muttered, lowering his head so he could kiss the man's long throat, lick the soft skin, suck at it -- and somehow the mortal was still talking.

"No...why me?" he asked again, although his voice was shaking.

"Because I want you?" Joxer finally replied, nipping sharply at the man's throat. "Outta all the mortals in this damn world I want you, okay?"

There was no response to that and Joxer hoped that his twin had finally run out of questions. Then he felt the hand on his head, fingers hesitantly running through his hair.

"Yeah, it's okay," the mortal said softly.

Joxer didn't care to admit it but he felt a bit better knowing that his counterpart wanted this too and wasn't just along for the ride. He moved to kiss him again and this time he got a response, the man's tongue meeting his, unsure in its exploration but enough to make Joxer moan.

The mortal tasted so fucking good. Joxer couldn't get enough of him, his mouth, tongue -- he wanted more. Suddenly pulling away he moved down and without any preamble, took the man's large cock deep into his mouth, drawing a mixed cry of surprise and pleasure from the mortal. Sucking hard, he used his tongue -- and occasionally the light scrape of his teeth -- to make his twin cry out repeatedly, bucking up, driving his cock deeper into Joxer's mouth, and Joxer took it fast, wanting to drive him over the edge quickly, needing to taste him.

And then the mortal was shuddering beneath him, coming in long, hot spurts that Joxer swallowed greedily. It was even better than he'd thought it would be.

Licking his lips to catch the few drops that had escaped his mouth, Joxer moved back up over the mortal. His twin was gasping for air, a stunned look on his face.

"Gives a whole new meaning to 'playing with yourself', don't it?" Joxer said with a grin.

"I--" Whatever the reply was it was cut off by Joxer's lips.

Sucking the mortal's tongue into his mouth, Joxer resisted the urge to simply push the man's legs apart and shove into him. He desperately needed release, both physically and emotionally, but he wasn't about to hurt his mortal to get it. There was oil on the table by the side of the bed but he didn't have the patience to deal with that. He just took care of things with a thought. The mortal made a noise of surprise and pulled back, looking at Joxer with obvious trepidation. He realized that he had to go about this another way.

Getting a firm grip on his mortal, he flipped them over so that he was lying beneath his twin. "Come on," he whispered, thrusting up against him. "I've wanted to be inside you since you first got here." He latched onto the man's throat again, biting not-so gently. The man above him shivered and suddenly pulled away, sitting up, in effect straddling Joxer's waist.

His twin was breathing hard and for a few moments appeared uncertain, then a look of acceptance crossed his face as he closed his eyes. Joxer didn't care for the implications of that expression but they'd deal with it later. Right now he was too caught up in the sight of his mortal raising up on his knees, the feel of the hand around his cock, and then--

Joxer groaned loudly as that slick heat slowly moved down his cock. Too slowly. Grabbing hold of the man's hips he thrust up, hard, at the same time pulling the mortal down to meet him.

"So..fucking..tight!" he gasped out, thrusting up again without pause, and again, setting a fast pace. The little sounds of pleasure he was drawing from the man above him made him even harder, and the sight of the mortal riding his cock, the feel of him, drove Joxer so close...but he wasn't ready to come. There was something else he needed.

"Open your eyes!" he ordered. "Look at me! I want you watching me when I come inside you."

The mortal obeyed, and when his eyes opened they were bright with surprised pleasure as he looked down at Joxer.

"Yes!" Joxer hissed, thrusting harder, holding the man's gaze as he slipped over the edge. He was coming and it was so good -- and it wasn't enough. He was still hard as the mortal slumped down on his chest.

"Again," he said, his voice rough with lust and need.

"Wha--?"

Joxer gave him no time to protest or question. Flipping them over again he threw the man's legs over his shoulders and ignoring the shocked look on his twin's face, began rocking into him. Soon he had his mortal moaning, his cock hard again as he pushed up against Joxer as best he could. It was over too fast, god and mortal coming together, crying out at the force of it -- and Joxer still wasn't satisfied.

Not until the third time, on his knees behind his twin, pounding into him as the mortal braced himself against the headboard. He felt that wonderfully tight ass clamping around his cock as the man came, screaming. That passion-filled sound, the incredible feel of being inside his twin, it broke Joxer's control and bit into his lip, blood trickling down his chin as he pumped into the mortal, his body shaking with release. And it was finally enough. For now.

Pulling out he allowed his twin to collapse. Dropping down beside him, Joxer would've laughed if he'd had the breath to do it. He felt so totally great! It'd been than he'd expected. Way better. It had been over a year since a mortal had made him feel this good, far too long.

His attention was drawn to his twin as the man stretched and rolled over onto his back.

"You're still awake, huh?" Joxer grinned at him, turning onto his side so he could see him better. "Didn't pass out once either. Gotta say I'm impressed." His grin quickly disappeared when he realized that the mortal's mood was more introspective than happy or satisfied.

"It was really...wonderful," his twin said, sounding almost surprised. "I mean, I don't regret it and I thought I would. I thought, I guess...I thought--"

"You thought I was just gonna do what I wanted and you were gonna have to lay there and take it, endure it, hope you survived it?" Joxer asked, already certain of the answer. He didn't get a reply but the look in the mortal's eyes told him what he wanted to know. "Well I don't work like that," he informed his twin. "Not with you anyway."

"I know."

"Good. So, are you gonna tell me about it or do I gotta start guessing?"

The mortal's expression became troubled and his reluctance to discuss the matter was obvious in his tone when he answered. "It's not what you think."

"What I think is that there's someone out there, maybe a few someones--" the man flinched and Joxer knew he'd hit the mark. "Yeah, there's some people out there that I really need to kill."

"It wasn't like that." His twin was suddenly agitated. Sitting up he deliberately didn't look at Joxer when he continued. "You're me, kind of, but you're not mortal, so you can't understand. Sometimes you gotta do stuff you don't want to do to survive. See...I never have a lot of money and sometimes, like in the winter when it's real cold, you have to have someplace to stay, something to eat, you know? So if I don't have money, then I gotta trade what I do have. What else am I supposed to do, freeze or starve to death?"

"No," Joxer replied quietly. He didn't like it but the mortal had said it before: that was life.

"It--it wasn't always so bad. A few of them were nicer than the rest. They at least tried not to hurt me."

Joxer wanted nothing more than to find every one of those bastards and eviscerate them, but it wasn't going to happen so he pushed the anger aside. He couldn't let his counterpart dwell on it either.

"Forget about it, Joxer," he said. "It's not gonna happen again so just don't think about it."

"What d'you mean?" the mortal looked at him curiously.

For a moment Joxer wasn't sure. He hadn't meant for it to come out that way but it had. Then he realized what it was. He cared for this mortal, a lot. It was bordering on love -- which, when he thought about it, really didn't surprise or bother him. This was his twin, his counterpart, basically himself -- and there was nothing in the world he loved more than himself. Even Ares only ran a close second to that. Just once in his long life had he ever come close to loving anyone more, and that was a moot point now.

"I want you here, with me," he explained.

"What, you mean like for the rest of my life?"

"Yeah," Joxer smiled.

"But...you said I was in danger here."

"There's ways around that. Ambrosia or an apple of Hesperides, whichever suits you. Either way I got favors I can call in. Won't be a problem."

"Wait a second, are you saying you'll make me immortal, or a god?"

"I'll make you whatever you want, love," Joxer said sincerely, reaching up to run his fingers over the man's cheek. "Just ask and you got it."

"Love?" the mortal seemed surprised by the endearment.

"This wasn't just a casual fuck, okay?" Joxer said a bit uncomfortably. He'd only just understood that himself and he really wasn't ready to discuss it, but once again things he hadn't meant to reveal were slipping out.

"Oh."

Maybe that slip had been a good thing. His twin was looking at him differently, the look in his eyes softer than it had been. Joxer smiled at his double and was rewarded with a truly brilliant smile in return.

"Come down here." It was more of a request than an order. The mortal lay back down and Joxer drew him close. "You're so eager for someone to care for you," he observed, tracing the line of the man's jaw with a finger.

"Do you? Really?" the mortal frowned in sudden apprehension.

"Yeah. It's not real smart but I do." Joxer sighed. Ever since he'd lost his last lover he'd felt -- no that wasn't true, he hadn't felt much at all, only varying amounts of anger and hate, but he was sure feeling now. Some part of him was telling him that this was a weakness, one he should fight, and maybe that was true, but he was happy and right now that's what mattered. He'd deal with the consequences later.

"You could really like it here." He was absolutely convinced of that. "I'd never let anyone hurt you. You could do what ever you wanted."

"I liked traveling with Xena and Gabrielle," his twin admitted.

Joxer chuckled. "You can travel with whoever you want, even Hercules, I don't care. I just want you here."

"Wow." The mortal smiled happily. "You really do mean it."

"Duh. Things've been pretty cool since you got here and they'll only get better. Just say 'yes'."

This was exactly what Joxer needed. Someone -- this particular someone -- to make him completely forget about Iolaus and deceased loves. It was perfect.

"I need to think. Is that okay?"

"No prob. Take your time."

"It's just that I've got a life back in my world and this is a really big decision."

"You told me about your life, remember? Family that doesn't appreciate you, friends that laugh atchya and think you're annoying, a god who won't love you -- that I seriously don't get." He shook his head in disbelief.

"I guess he didn't think I was good enough for him," the mortal said, pain showing on his expressive features. "I just wish he would've at least showed up and told me why?"

Joxer wasn't sure he'd understood that. "What?"

"All he did was send word for me to meet him there and then he didn't even show to do it himself. He sent Discord instead."

Joxer was having a hard time comprehending this. He could only hope this didn't mean what he thought it did. "He didn't help Discord open the vortex?"

"There was a storm building. She used the lightning to help her do it. She said Ares didn't even want to see me. He just wanted to get rid of me," the man said miserably.

Joxer didn't respond. He almost shivered from the chill that had worked its way inside him. His twin didn't know Discord, didn't know how she thought, what she was capable of. If he had then he'd be thinking exactly what Joxer was thinking right now. The mortal was looking at him for a reply. He had to say something but he couldn't admit this, not until he'd completely thought it through. Somehow he managed a smile.

"Don't worry about it right now. Try to get some sleep, 'kay? We'll talk later."

"Are you leaving?"

"No, I'll be right here." The pleased look on his twin's face made Joxer want to kiss him, but he resisted, just holding him tighter instead.

He watched the mortal for a while until he was certain the man was sleeping peacefully, then he released his counterpart and sat up, leaning back against the headboard.

There wasn't much to consider. He was already pretty sure of what had happened, even if he didn't know the exact circumstances he knew the players well enough to figure the rest out. Still, he spent the next few hours going over it again and again, looking at the facts from every possible angle. It always came out the same.

Life wasn't fair, not even to gods. He knew that, but he still couldn't believe this was happening. He'd been happy. How many gods could claim that? Power didn't mean contentment, it was often a guarantee of the opposite, so true happiness was something to be treasured. And now he stood to lose it for the second time in under two years.

He knew he could lie and there was a good chance his twin would never know. Then they could be together. But he knew he wouldn't do that. He'd made a habit of telling the truth to this mortal and even if he did stop now he'd never feel right about it.

When he gently shook his counterpart awake he was resigned to what he had to, and to what it would likely cost him.

"Hi." His twin smiled sleepily up at him, then frowned when the smile wasn't returned. "What's wrong?"

"I need to know something. If there was a chance that there'd been a...misunderstanding and Ares -- the one in your world -- really did want you, would you wanna check it out?"

"Would I want to--yes!" His counterpart rubbed his eyes as he sat up. "What're you saying?"

"I--" Joxer had known this was going to be hard, but the desperate hope on his twin's face hurt more than he'd expected. He forced himself to continue. "I know Discord and...and I don't think Ares has clue one what happened to you."

"What?" the mortal whispered in disbelief.

"You told Ares you loved him, right?"

"Uh-huh. I said I loved him and I'd do anything for him. Well, that's what I meant anyway. It took a while to say it because I was really nervous and I kept trying to find the right words and--"

"Was Discord around anywhere?"

"I dunno."

"I'll bet she was. She always wants Unc to herself and she must've seen you as a threat. So she got rid of you. She couldn't kill you because Ares would find out pretty quick if you showed up in the underworld, so she dumped you in the vortex."

"But...that would mean that she thought Ares might actually want me."

"Yeah. It does," Joxer replied quietly.

He gave the mortal a couple minutes to adjust to that revelation before continuing.

"Do you wanna know if that's what happened?" he asked.

His twin nodded eagerly. "Yes! I can just go back and ask him and--"

"No. I'm not gonna risk sending you there. If it turns out that he really did order Discord to do this then he might knock you off if you just show up. I'll go."

His twin stared at him. "You? But, how...?"

"It shouldn't be that hard. All I gotta do is find Ares, pretend I'm you and see how he reacts to me. Won't take long. I'll be back the same day, probably. And there's nothing he can do to hurt me so there's no risk."

"You'd do that for me?"

Joxer nodded. "If it turns out that Discord was doing her own thing then I'll give you back to him, but if he really doesn't want you--"

"Then I'll stay with you," the man promised.

"Is that what you  want?"

"I was gonna tell you when you got me up. I decided to stay. But now...I've gotta know."

Joxer nodded again, showing nothing of the pain that statement caused. He'd been so close.

"What's gonna happen to me when you're gone?" his twin was asking.

"I gotta make some arrangements. It's gonna take a few hours but you'll be safe. Promise."

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