Author's Notes: Thanks to Sir Shirkin from over on fanfiction.net!
Snake Kisses
Seto glared at the broken pieces of wood that had washed up on his shore and rumbled quietly in annoyance. Damn whatever ship that had been foolish enough to sail out in Poseidon's storm! Now it was all over his beach!
He had to clean it up! Humans were officially the bane of his existence. Gods… Well, at least he'd have firewood for a while.
Grumbling to himself, he began picking up the broken pieces of wood that had once been a magnificent ship. He paused by a larger piece, then sighed and set down the smaller ones he'd gathered so he could break it apart and get it out of the way. While he would admit that he hated doing these things, he also had to concede that it gave him something to do during his normally boring days.
Hmm. A human body. Well, at least he'd have something to eat that wasn't fish or crustaceans. …He needed to get out more; the idea was making him way too happy. Perhaps he could go visit—
Seto was embarrassed to admit that he had let out a decidedly unmanly squeal when the human body turned out to still be alive, body heaving with a violent cough before it fell still again. "Poseidon Zeus and Hera-!"
The human twitched, shivering, then managed to roll onto its side. "H… hel…p…"
"What in gods' names—" Seto tossed the piece of lumber he was holding away and knelt beside the prone human, gently turning him onto his back and sitting him up. "…Hmm… You don't seem to have any major wounds… A few cuts, perhaps, but—No! Don't open your eyes!"
He didn't want to turn anything that could potentially be food into stone, damn it—
"Nngh… Thirsty…!"
Seto could only stare, surprised when he found the eyes gazing up at him sightlessly; the amber irises were cloudy, pupils dilated oddly in the sunlight. "…You're blind."
"Ha… Yes…" The human shivered as he felt the other man's fingertips trailing down his cheek. "Help me…!"
It felt strange, holding someone in his arms as they stared up at him without feeling cold, hard stone. He was used to accidentally turning the humans that came upon him to stone, of having to get rid of the shocked and horrified-looking statues that had once been humans. It had been so long since he'd held someone that wasn't petrified to hard rock.
…Humans… were surprisingly beautiful.
The human's breath hitched as he lifted him up, as if he'd never been touched gently, and after years of hearing nothing but screams abruptly cut off into stony silence, Seto couldn't help but think the noise was beautiful. "Can you tell me what happened?"
The blond whimpered quietly. "W-water…?"
He'd probably been out on the beach all night during the storm, cowering under the remnants of his ship and terrified because he couldn't see what was going on around him. He was lucky that a satyr or harpy hadn't smelled him and searched him out. Normally, those creatures would stay away from his beach, but after storms like the one just before, harpies and satyrs were too wound up to care about angering the gorgon that normally didn't care as long as they didn't bother him.
Placing the blond on a blanket carefully, he took a moment to wrap another one around him to keep the chill off. "I'll go get you some water. Don't move."
The human held the blankets around his naked body tightly, unable to help a nervous tremble. "O-okay…"
Well, at least the human could
sense that he was dangerous. That was comforting.
Seto picked among the cups that he'd gathered from previous victims before finding a larger bowl and went outside to get some fresh water. Coming back into the cave he lived in, he scooped some water into a small cup, then grabbed the human's hands so he could place them around it. "Drink that. I'll throw some wood on the fire and find something dry for you to wear." He placed the bowl on the blond's lap. "Here's some more water when you drink all that. Just dip your cup in."
"Okay," the blond repeated quietly, lifting the cup to his mouth. Once his lips found the edge of the cup, he drank greedily.
The gorgon snorted in amusement and threw some wood on the fire he always kept going, then began picking through the clothes that had accumulated with his victims, trying to find something that might fit the blind boy's smaller body. Dark green would look good on him. He was pale, probably from staying inside all the time when his family or friends couldn't help him get around. The dark green would hopefully make him look a little less washed out.
Hmm. The only thing he found was a woman's toga. …Well, it's not like the blond would be able to tell anyway…
"…Hey, you're going to make yourself sick like that!" Seto snapped, pulling the cup from the human's lips. The bowl of water was almost empty. "I meant drink it slowly. I don't want you vomiting and making a mess of my cave."
"C-cave?" The blond cleared his throat, then tilted his head up, as if to look at him. "…I was right, huh. I thought… You're not human, are ya?" He bit his bottom lip. "…Are you a god?"
Seto snorted bitterly. "A god? I think not." He took the bowl from the human's lap and threw the toga at him. "Put that on. I'll go get more water. Are you warming up?"
The blond nodded hesitantly. "Yes."
"Good." The gorgon left to get another bowl of water, frowning when he saw just how much water was left inside. The human must have been so dehydrated… But honestly. If he threw up in his cave, he was pitching him into the ocean.
Coming back into his cave, he paused to watch the blond wriggle uncomfortably as he tucked the blanket back around his body. "…My name is Seto," he stated after a moment, walking over to gently set the bowl beside him. "And I'm certainly not a god. I used to be human like you." He reached out to gently rub the blond hair between his fingers. "I pissed off the wrong god and got turned into a gorgon. I'm hoping someday I'll convince Poseidon that I should be human again, but until then, staying in here where no one bothers me is the best I can do."
"A gorgon?" The human frowned in confusion. "I thought gorgons were female…"
"Yes, they are. Poseidon thought it would be funny," Seto stated dryly. "But he has a twisted sense of humor."
"Oh." The blond nibbled his bottom lip for a few moments, then lifted his head again. "My name is Joey. I'm… I'm sorry I'm puttin' you out. If I could see, I'd get outta your hair, but…"
The older boy snorted. "If you could see, you'd be dead. You would have seen me when you woke and you'd be stone."
"Oh. …I guess bein' blind is good for something, then…" Joey lifted a hand to rub his eyes, licking his lips, then blushed a little and turned his head away. "…I… I don't know what a gorgon looks like."
"Ugly," Seto replied blandly. "Snakes for hair."
"Oh." The blond nibbled on his lip again, blush darkening. "…Could I… May I see you?"
The gorgon blinked at him, baffled. "…Did… a god give you the gift of seeing another way?"
"No, I just…" Joey lifted his hands. "I can feel things. I'll be able to make a picture in my head with what I feel—if your skin is smooth, your facial features, how muscular or fat ya are. May I see you?"
Ah, the human was asking for permission to touch him, not use some queer, god-given way to see him visually. He supposed he could deal with that. "Alright." He tilted his head when the blond's hands hesitated.
"…Your… your hair won't bite me, will it?" the smaller boy asked nervously, fingers hovering over the gorgon's chin.
Seto couldn't help a short chuckle of amusement as he sat back, crossing his legs in front of him. "No. The snakes are an extension of me. They'll be curious, but they won't bite."
"Oh." Joey giggled in embarrassment and turned his head away, eyes sliding closed for a moment, then turned to face him again and sat up straight.
He bit his bottom lip again and gently cupped the man-turned-monster's cheeks, slowly sliding his left hand down over his chin, his neck, and across his shoulder. He took note of the muscles rippling under his fingers as he slid them down his arm and the smoothness of his skin as they slid back up. He blushed a little as his hand slid down the gorgon's bare chest and abdomen, especially when he heard the other man moan quietly. He let his hand come to a stop on his muscular thigh, fingers trembling a little as the muscles flexed beneath them.
Desperate to take his mind off the muscles that had seemed to flex to show off to him, Joey slid the hand still cupping the gorgon's cheek down a little, fingertips gently tracing over his lips. He slid his fingers up over the bridge of his nose, around his eyes, and over his forehead. He stopped just short of his scalp, still a little nervous. When he realized he might be offending the gorgon by still showing fear despite the help he'd been given, he hesitantly slid his fingers into his scalp, shivering as he felt the wriggling bodies between his fingers.
He squeaked as he felt something tickling his skin all over his hand. "What are they doing!"
"Relax. They're just smelling you. …They use their tongues to smell," Seto explained, glancing upward. He smiled a little as he watched one of the snakes wriggle affectionately between the blond's fingers; while they were extensions of him, they still adored affection, since he'd been starved of interaction outside of fights with satyrs and harpies.
"Oh. So… they're not gonna hurt me?" When the older boy hummed an affirmative, he hesitantly lifted his other hand into gorgon's 'hair,' giggling a little when the snakes hurried to give that one the same amount of affection. "What color are they?"
"They're white."
Joey smiled a wistful smile. "White. I wonder what white looks like." He slid a hand back to cup his cheek. "What color are your eyes?"
"…They're blue," Seto answered quietly, frowning as the blond's wistful smile faded a little. "…You don't know what blue looks like, either, do you?"
The human flinched and abruptly yanked his hands back to his chest, turning his head away quickly. "…Blue is… round… and sweet. At least, that's what my sister told me. She gave me some berries and told me they were blue," he explained softly. He flinched again as he felt something warm and wet sliding down his cheek and hurriedly wiped it away.
"…You aren't missing anything, Joey. I'm ugly anyway," the gorgon whispered, pulling the smaller boy into his arms.
Joey whimpered quietly. "…Thank you for not treatin' me like an idiot." He nuzzled against the gorgon's neck. "For lettin' me fill my own cup and dressin' myself. My family never let me do that stuff myself. 'nd when my mom and sister left, my dad didn't wanna do it."
"Were you on a ship to go meet your mother and sister?" Seto frowned when the blond sobbed and shook his head. "What, then?"
"My dad didn't wanna help me so he put me on the cheapest ship he could find and said that I could use my body to earn my food!" the younger boy cried, shaking.
The gorgon couldn't help a growl of fury at that. "Oh, did he?"
"The captain was nice enough to let me share his cabin and gave me food free of charge. I hope he didn't suffer when he died…"
Seto stroked the human's hair and kissed the top of his head. "He probably didn't suffer." He took a few moments to soothe the younger boy, waiting until his sobs faded into random hiccups before he made the blond lean back. He cupped the human's flushed cheeks and used his thumbs to gently brush his tears away.
Joey sniffled and whimpered a little longer before reaching up to gently grasp one of the gorgon's hand with both of his own. "…I'm sorry. I just needed to cry a little."
"That's fine." The older boy smiled a little and ruffled his hair. "I need to go out and clean the beach. Will you be okay in here?"
"Is… is there anything I can do?" the human asked, voice trailing off when he realized how stupid he sounded.
"Hmm." Seto tilted his head a little, then stood up. "I think I have something for you to do."
Joey lifted his head hopefully. "Really?"
"It's not much. I just want you to carry the wood I pick up. Is that okay?" Seto asked, reaching down to help him up.
The human was eager to show he was useful. "Yes! I wanna help!"
Seto rolled his eyes but led him out of the cave. "Alright."
.-.-.-.-.-.
"Seto? Seto, are you awake…?" Joey listened to the gorgon breathe for a few moments, then sighed when he found his breaths steady in sleep. He trailed his fingers over the older boy's chest idly, waiting for him to wake up. While he knew that, after several months of living with the gorgon, he could basically roll on top of him and braid his snakes into a bunch of little dreadlocks and he wouldn't care, he also knew just how grumpy the older boy could be when he woke up in the morning.
He wasn't quite sure what had caused it, but one morning, he'd pestered the gorgon soon after he'd woken up, and had been pitched into the sea. Seto had never apologized.
Joey frowned as his fingers rubbed over something that made the older boy groan, then blushed when he realized he'd trailed his fingers over the man-turned-monster's nipple. "Oh-!" He squeaked as the gorgon grabbed him and began nuzzling the top of his head. "Ee-! S-Seto!"
Seto rumbled quietly in his sleep and gripped the blond around the waist tightly, one hand sliding down to cup his rear. "Mm…"
"…" Joey tried to calm his breathing, even though all he wanted to do was panic. What if Seto woke up? What if he thought that he'd tried to take advantage of him, or got angry, and threw him into the ocean again? It had taken him forever to figure out which way was the shore last time!
He gasped quietly as he felt the older boy arch his hips upward, blushing again as he felt something hard rub against his abdomen. "Nnh! Seto-!" Abruptly, he found himself acquainted with the floor, confused and disoriented. "Uh!"
Seto sat up straight sharply, instinctively covering his crotch with his hands as he glared at the blond in confusion. "What the-? Joey, what in gods' names were you doing!"
"I was just—I don't know-!" He turned his head away in embarrassment. "I was just waitin' for you to wake up, and—"
"You molested me!"
"I didn't mean to! I couldn't tell until I—"
"What do you mean you couldn't tell!"
"I'm
blind!"
Seto snorted and covered his mouth quickly, biting his tongue to keep from actually laughing. He'd forgotten in the fog of just waking up that the blond couldn't see what exactly he was touching and wouldn't be able to tell what it was
unless he touched it. Seeing him so flustered and indignant was just too cute.
Cute? Yes. He liked the little human in every single way—especially when he blushed and sputtered indignantly, if only because seeing him shake his fist in the wrong direction was incredibly funny.
"B-besides! You were the one humpin' me!" Joey added in embarrassment. He whined quietly when the gorgon lost his battle to control his amusement and roared with laughter. "It's not funny! Stop laughin' at me!"
Seto calmed himself down quickly, but only because the blond looked absolutely miserable in his embarrassment and helplessness on the floor. "Sorry. I wasn't laughing at you."
"Yes you were! Don't lie!" The human squirmed as he was gently pulled back into the gorgon's arms. "Don't hug me! I'm mad at you!"
"No, it's funny because for a minute there I forgot that you were blind," he explained, combing his fingers through the blond's hair. "Sometimes the harpies make a game out of who can molest me the furthest. They've gotten very good at not looking at my face." He did not mention the dozens of harpy statues resting at the bottom of the sea.
Joey frowned. "…That's not a very nice game."
"The harpies aren't very nice creatures," Seto replied, shrugging. "…I'm sorry about humping you, I guess. It's been years since I've actually had sex."
"Oh." The blond reached up to idly stroke some of the snakes, unable to help a smile as one of the more affectionate 'strands of hair' gently nibbled his pinky. "…Ya really like me, don't you, Seto? Your snakes never get mean with me."
"Of course I like you. It's lonely here." Seto glanced up at his 'hair' and frowned. "The snakes may be getting minds of their own, though. They like you more than they like me."
Joey giggled in embarrassment and punched his shoulder. "Shut up." He squealed as one of the larger snakes wrapped around his wrist, keeping his hand in place for other snakes to begin nibbling and licking his hand—or kissing, as he'd come to think of it. Nibbling his bottom lip for a moment, he ducked his head and quietly asked, "Would you ever have sex with me?" Then, he waited for rejection.
Seto blinked at him for a few minutes, honestly confused by why he would ask something like that. "Did you think I was complaining? I don't mind not having sex—"
"That's not why I was askin'," the blond assured quickly.
"Hmm." The gorgon eyed him thoughtfully, then leaned down and gently kissed his neck. When the blond shivered and flinched, he chuckled. "Did that tickle?"
Joey blushed and covered his face with his free hand in embarrassment. "Yes…!"
"I wouldn't mind having sex with you. I've thought about it a few times, and I must say that it appeals to me, but I'm also content just holding you and kissing you once in a while," Seto explained, kissing his cheek. He paused, then sat up straight and raised an eyebrow. "Do you…
want me to have sex with you?"
"…Sort of." Feeling the snake around his wrist finally uncoil, he pulled his hand back and began playing with his fingers. "…I've always wondered what sex feels like, but I've never had anyone I've really trusted that I'd feel comfortable havin' sex with." He bit his bottom lip again. "…I'd feel comfortable having sex with
you, I think."
The gorgon hummed quietly, surprised that he actually understood the blind boy's sometimes questionable logic. "Hmm. Well, I'd be honored to be the first to show you how good sex can be. But I'd like you to think about it a little longer, in any case." He lifted one of the blond's hands to gently kiss the back of it. "I don't want you to just think. I want you to
know you'd be comfortable with me, and I want you to think about this, too; it has literally been
years for me
. As sure as I am that I haven't forgotten anything to keep you from getting hurt, it's completely possible that once I start, I won't stop again until I'm finished, whether or not you beg for me to stop. Keep that in mind. Think about it a little longer. Make your decision carefully."
Joey frowned as he felt the older boy kiss his hand again and laid his head on his chest; he'd never thought about that before, but it made sense. After a minute, he decided he'd think about it later, so he changed the subject a little. "…Your snakes like kissin' me."
"Of course they do." Seto snorted. "You're the only person that's ever touched them kindly. Satyrs try to cut my head off and harpies try and slice off my snakes as souvenirs."
"That seems… cruel." The blond reached up to pet the snakes again, cooing at them sweetly. "You guys are just so sweet! Why would anybody try and hurt you?"
Seto smiled as the human stroked and pet the snakes that made up his twisted form of hair, wrapping his arms around him gently. "I'll have to go get some food eventually, Joey."
"I know. Can we have fish instead of crab? Crab is hard to eat."
"…Not to mention one 'attacked' you—"
"Shut up! It just came up and pinched my butt! What else was I supposed to do, just sit there and take it!"
Seto rolled his eyes and coughed to cover up a snort of amusement. Watching the blond run around, screaming like a banshee and flailing blindly, had actually had him in stitches of laughter for days.
…Joey hadn't talked to him for a week after it, though. That had almost hurt.
Sighing quietly, he kissed the blond's forehead before he stood up. "Alright. Fish it is."
Joey lifted his hands for help up. "I wanna come too!"
Seto snorted again but helped him up nevertheless. "What are you going to do? Try and catch fish, too?"
"No!" The blond sniffed indignantly. "I'm gonna sit there and look cute."
The gorgon could only blink for a few minutes, stunned, even as the blond placed his hand against the wall to guide him to the mouth of the cave. "…Did you really just say that?"
Joey didn't even turn his head to acknowledge him. "No, it's all in your mind."
