Day had known meals of all kinds: from the most formal when he was still being educated by his uncle to a simple meal with his boss in the pub courtyard. But never had any of them been so funny. Who would have thought that the gods could be completely different under the effects of alcohol? Some had become much more open while others let the alcohol take over and blackmail them. Day's quiet house had become a real poultry house, and the food galore was just a memory. All the dishes he and Nyx had prepared, half of which he had deemed unnecessary, had been swallowed up as mere appetizers. The meats, the vegetables, the various sauces and the astronomical quantity of bread prepared… Everything was gone.
Sated, on the verge of indigestion and unable to swallow water without feeling his stomach turn, Day watched in horror as the god of earth and gravity finish his umpteenth slice of the delicious chocolate cakes he had iced to perfection.
"How can you eat so much without your stomach bursting?" ends up asking the youngest of them all between gagging.
"I digest extremely quickly and my body quickly absorbs what it needs, which allows me to have reserves for a long time and to be able to eat as much as I want!" smiles the one who was asked the question. "You, on the other hand, you would need to eat a little more. You are very thin."
"No, nothing! Just seeing what's left on the table makes me gag."
"Oh, then I'll eat for you!"
Day widened when he saw him finish the rest of the cake with undisguised pleasure and a sly glance at the host.
"So, wasn't I right?" Nyx questioned, crossing his arms, slumped arrogantly in his chair.
"You were right, but once a year this kind of meal because I'm not going to be able to keep up."
"Matter of habit."
"What about ending up sick? I don't want to make this habit, you know."
"In any case, it was delicious!" exclaimed the god of lightning, wiping the chocolate from the corner of his lips. "You taught very well at that impatient how to cook."
"Actually, he's the one who taught me the most."
Day knew that the answer was not what he expected in his astonishment.
"Did he teach you how to cook…?"
"Some things, yes."
"I can not believe it," pointed out the goddess of nature whose beauty and grace were matched only by the flowers she had bloomed on the table to decorate it.
"I assure you it's the truth. We've been cooking all day, since five in the morning."
"For us?"
"Yes. The house had to be cleaned too because he still hasn't figured out that mud has nothing to do in a house and what a doormat is for."
"To decorate the floor," Nyx growled, puffing out his cheeks. "I know what this is for."
"Ah yes?"
"Yes!"
"In that case, I'm sorry to tell you you're wrong. Doormats are for cleaning shoes, which you never do when you come home from the garden."
"What?"
"How can something so small clean shoes?" Day's dad wondered, turning to look at the black doormat in front of the front door.
"Is that a real question or is it just to start a discussion? Nobody here knows how to use it?"
All the gods nodded negatively with impatience and certain curiosity for the answer as Day, sunk in his chair, let despair engulf him.
"I can't believe I'm going to explain this to adults," he sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose.
"We are listening, sir adapted to human life," Nyx said impatiently, stamping his foot.
"Much more than you. It's very easy to use a doormat, just put your feet on it and rub them."
"Against each other? But that doesn't clean…"
"On the doormat. Okay wait, I'll show you."
As surreal as the situation could be, Day makes himself the demonstration of the use of a doormat, in front of more than stunned gods and his own parents.
"It's very simple, you see. Now I can walk without worrying about getting everything dirty," The blond finished explaining before looking at his mother. "It must be complicated sometimes."
The middle-aged, dark-haired woman, amused at the unlikely situation, nodded with a small smile before she finished drinking her cup of tea.
"Why do you have two?" asked the god of lightning. "One is enough, right?"
"It depends on whether the shoes are very dirty or not, if they are full of mud I clean them on the outside because the one on the outside is thicker, so it cleans more deeply."
"It's fascinating." another god called out, looking at the object in question.
"Well, we're not yet at when I have to explain how to use a dishwasher."
"I know how!" Nyx immediately boasted of it with a mischievous smirk.
"You know because I explained to you and I make sure that everything is going well. You wanted to start it earlier when you had not put in a cleaning tablet or rinsing liquid."
"But that's..."
"The dishes are not cleaned well without."
"It is a little bit."
"Briefly."
"Hehe, I'm right it is clean."
"No, I'm just too tired to debate this again."
"It is very late, it's true," Day's father suddenly noticed, looking up at the wall clock.
"How long are you going to get home?"
"Go home?"
"Ah, that's what I forgot to tell you the other day…They stay here to sleep."
Day looked coldly at Nyx who rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Do you think you can make the walls of your house bigger, blond?" his brother laughed with a smirk.
"Oh you, silence! I don't have a hotel Nyx. Where do you want me to put them to sleep? In the garden?"
"Lou wouldn't mind."
"No, but even though she's the goddess of nature, she won't sleep outside. Come on! It's not respectful. She's a guest."
"How gallant he is," smiles the woman in question.
"This is normal. How am I going to do..."
"Your living room is big, you push the furniture a bit and it's good," said Day's father.
"Um, yeah..."
"Change the decor as long as you're at it."
"Why not change something else too."
"Yes, like everything and put...!"
"I was sarcastic!" the blond interrupted immediately. "You do not change anything. Otherwise, it is you who will go to sleep outside in the mud."
"What about the furniture, can we move it?" asked Nyx with a little smirk.
"You didn't take the time to ask me earlier."
"Now I am doing it."
Letting a long, tired sigh escape his lips, Day simply responded with a nod before gesturing to his once-organized living room. With the blink of an eye, his sofa had changed of place. Another blink of an eye and it was totally gone from his living room!
"My sofa!" he cried, gesturing to the now empty place.
"He was in the way," His father justified himself by snapping his fingers again, making the now extra coffee table disappear.
"Leave my furniture alone, I paid a heavy price for buying them by myself!"
"It wouldn't have been so painful if you hadn't left," said his former master, his uncle.
Day was about to say something when his eyes caught Nyx's sign. Instead, he fell silent and allowed his house to be gleefully altered. His own house. His place of peace. It wasn't so now. His peace had taken flight as soon as he had accepted this dinner. Sitting in his chair, he could hold his anger, inexorably gnawing at his raw nerves since the start of the meal. At no time his family bothered to take an interest in his new life except to find out more about his relationship with Nyx. He had let him explain, just nodding every now and then. This lie was a truth in his thoughts, only in his thoughts. The young man almost spits out the water he swallowed when he felt a warm hand caress his shoulder.
"You should go to bed," suggested in a low voice the god of night and death.
The blonde didn't bother to look up at him and gave a slight shoulder back to release his hand. Quickly he rose from his chair and greeted these guests, wishing them a good night's sleep before heading out into his hallway, his bedroom door facing him. He could hear his bed calling him, telling him to curl up in the sheets and not think of anything. The voices of his guests instantly subside once he closed the door behind him, thus finding himself finally alone with himself. Day wasted no time in removing his shoes and undoing his tie as he walked over to his bed. He sat on the edge and took off his jacket and waistcoat, starting to unbutton his shirt as the door opened and closed. The click of the lock was heard before Nyx came to stand in front of him.
"Need help?" he asked calmly.
"All my furniture are gone, aren't they?" the blond supposed as he reached the last button.
"Not all."
"Why are you here? You can stay with them."
"It's less fun if you're not there."
"It's no more fun being with me in the bedroom when I go to bed."
Faced with Nyx's silence, Day looked up and couldn't suppress the shiver that ran through him at the sight of that lustful smile, that mischievous look, and those sharp fangs.
"Your sentence is tendentious, especially when you are undressing," the white-haired god pointed out, grabbing his collar between his fingers.
"May I know what's on your mind?"
"Nothing… Nothing at all."
"You lie."
"We are a couple, I can help you undress."
"We're not really a couple," the blond whispered to himself.
Nyx's hearing, much more developed than that of a simple human, enabled him to catch his barely spoken words. Before his roommate even had time to react, he cupped his face and rubbed his thumb against his cheek.
"We could," he informed him in a low tone, close to a whisper. "False information has been said, you might as well turn it into a real one."
Day remained silent, looking at everything in his line of sight except Nyx.
"I know why you let me speak," he continued, letting go of his jaw to kneel in front of him.
"Shut up."
"What's wrong with that? I would like to understand why you push me away as soon as I start to approach you."
"You know very well!"
"No."
"You know."
"I don't see the problem."
"You know very well what is the problem between you and me. Stop lying!"
"I'm not lying, I don't know…Wait."
"What."
"Is that what bothers you?"
"Um…I'm not sure we're thinking the same thing."
"I can guarantee you that we have the same meaning of the word 'problem' in mind."
Embarrassed, Day stared at his bedroom floor before shuddering when Nyx's hands rested on his thighs. He moved closer and came to rest his head on one of his thighs while sighing.
"Even though we are not of the same kind, even though we are two men, that is okay," the white-haired god promised.
"It's you who is saying it."
"Because it's up to us. Whether or not you're an omega doesn't make a difference to me."
"That will change when I get them."
"Your heat?"
"Yes."
"What will change?"
"Are you asking me that?!"
"I'll help you get through them."
"Sorry?!"
"Not that way, getting ready to eat or whatever! But tell me, is that also why vampires are breaking into your house? You had had advances, didn't you?"
"You have no idea..."
"I can imagine very well, don't worry. I promise you Day. I don't care what other people think. I will protect you for eternity. I will give my life for you."
Day's cheeks flushed, taking on a crimson hue as his cold hands found themselves mingling with Nyx's. He ran his fingers through the blonde's, watching their hands be joined together before bringing them to his lips. He brushed the soft skin of Day's delicate hands before he felt them shake when he kissed them tenderly.