The Bench

Lewis Salvatore dressed into pajama pants, going without a shirt as he let the dogs out one last time before bed. As he waited for them, he locked up the other doors and cut himself an apple.

Once everything was secure and cozy, Lewis climbed into the guest bed and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Lewis didn't know where he was, but it was obviously expensive. Having the mind of the architect he's always wanted to be, Lewis immediately recognized the design as Greek. The obelisks, the floor, and simply the shape of the building were simply astonishing. It was almost as if he'd gone back in time.

Afraid to touch anything, Lewis kept his hands in front of him as he walked down the hall. It was wide, almost like a room and everything he past, he had the urge to touch and marvel.
The farther he went, the louder voices grew. They were unfamiliar and sounded like they were coming from another room. Lewis detected two different tones, one was angry and powerful. The other was just as angry and threatening. The first one was much more masculine and seemed to be in control of whatever they were talking about. Lewis couldn't make out their language... their dialects were completely out of his hearing capabilities. He began to wonder if he should just turn back the other way and pretend nothing was going on. That is, until he heard his own name.

"Lewis?"

He looked up from his bare feet and furrowed his brows when he saw Stefan standing there in that familiar white cloth around his waist. This time it was actually covering him.

"What are you doing here, Lewis?"

"Um, where is here, exactly?"

Stefan opened his mouth to say so, but was interrupted.

"You know he isn't allowed to know."

A man stepped out from the shadows; a very tall, very scary man. He was dressed in silver Greek armor, the metal glittering brightly. His hair was white, long and straight, his eyes were the color of the sky and pierced Lewis' like lightning. His presence seemed to be electric and sizzled the air. Lewis could almost smell the ozone.

The man turned to glare at Lewis, which only made him even more scary. Lewis swallowed, his palms clammy with sweat.

Stefan was glaring at the man, his fists clenched at his sides. It was obvious he wanted to say something, maybe even get in a fight, but something was holding him back. Lewis was surprised Stefan was letting this man control him. From what he knew of him, Stefan didn't let anybody get in his way. Except for this guy. What was so special about him?

The man turned his head slightly, still not taking his eyes off of Lewis. "Escort him home, Eros. It seems this man is much more interesting than we had first interpreted. When you get back, we will have a very long talk."

And with that, the man disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Lewis stared at it in shock.
Stefan looked at him with sympathy and gripped his shoulders. "Come, we don't need your presence attracting anyone else."

Suddenly, Lewis felt like he was suffocating and everything turned black. He would have screamed, except he couldn't draw enough air. His head pounded with pain, his throat contracting with the need to breathe.

And then he was sitting up in bed, clutching his neck and gasping for breath. When he finally calmed down enough to think a coherent sentence, he looked around and realized he was back home and alone.

But when he finally relaxed and lied back down, the only thing he could think was: why did that man call Stefan, Eros?

***********************

"Τι έκανες? [What have you done?]" Zeus screamed accusingly, his hands shooting out sparks of lightning. "Σας υποσχέθηκα κάνατε μόνο μια «βολή», και τότε εμφανίζεται εδώ; Πώς τολμάς ψέματα! [You promised you were only doing a 'fling'. And then he shows up here? How dare you lie to me!]"

I glared right back at him and put my face in his, which probably wasn't the greatest idea due to the fact he was the king and could easily banish me. "Δεν έκανα τίποτα [I didn't do anything,]" I spoke the words slowly and menacingly. "Είμαι ακριβώς όπως σύγχυση όπως είσαι, Πάππος [I am just as confused as you are, Grandfather.]" I added that last bit to mock him, even if I was being sincere.

He sneered at the use of the word 'grandfather' and raised his nose at me. "Στη συνέχεια, να μου εξηγήσει γιατί κατέληξε στην Όλυμπο, όταν οι θνητοί δεν μπορεί να περάσει το πτέρυγες.[Then explain to me how he ended up in Olympus when mortals cannot pass the wards.]"

"Δεν ξέρω [I don't know,]" I said, completely serious this time. "Αισθάνεται ανθρώπου, κύριε. Στην πραγματικότητα, είμαι πολύ σίγουρος για αυτό. [He feels human, sire. In fact, I'm pretty sure of it.]"

"Μήπως υποψιάζεστε ότι θα μπορούσε ενδεχομένως να είναι ένα ημίθεος; [Do you suspect, he could possibly be a demigod]?"

"Όχι. [No]," I said flatly. "Αδύνατο. [Impossible]."

Zeus put a finger on his chin in thought, thinking of any possible ways. Meanwhile something pulled at the back of my mind, something about other gods and their beliefs. That's when it hit me.

"Ίσως δεν είναι η ελληνική. Ίσως αυτό δεν έχει καμία σχέση με μας σε όλα! Maybe he isn't Greek. Maybe it has nothing to do with us at all!

"Τι θες να πεις; [What are you saying]?"

"Δεν υπάρχει αιγυπτιακή μάγοι εκεί έξω; Μερικοί bloodline ποιος έχει χαθεί κατά τα έτη; Lewis Salvatore θα μπορούσε να είναι ένας από αυτούς. Να μην πιστεύουν ότι η ψυχή τους, ή όπως το λένε βα, ταξίδι στον ύπνο τους; [Aren't there Egyptian magicians out there? Some who's bloodline has been lost in the years? Lewis Salvatore could be one of them. Don't they believe that their soul, or as they call it ba, travel in their sleep]?"

Zeus furrowed his brows at this information, thinking deeply. "Θα μπορούσε να είναι σωστή. [You could be right]." He turned to stare at one of the walls that had a painting of two warriors fighting. One was the demigod, Hercules and the other was Hades. "Θα συγκαλέσει συνάντηση με τους άλλους. [I will call a meeting with the others]." He began to walk off, then stopped and looked over his shoulder at me. "Θα περιμένω να είστε εκεί, τον Έρωτα. [I do expect you to be there, Eros]."

I bowed low. "Ναι, Κύριέ μου. [Yes, my Lord]."

He smiled weakly, then disappeared into a smoke cloud. I sighed and turned around, ruffling the feathers of my twenty feet long wings. And then I too, disappeared, only in a flash of silver light and my destination wasn't exactly what Zeus would have liked it to be. But then, neither have I, if things had been different.

*********************

Lewis Salvatore woke up the next morning with a headache as big as Antarctica and limbs just as sore and useless. After getting out of bed, he let out the dogs and started up the coffee maker, peering out the kitchen window that hovered over the sink. His memory was a blur and anything about last night didn't make any sense. His mind was telling him he came here after seeing Stefan, let out the dogs, locked up and went straight to bed. But his heart was screaming he was wrong.

Sighing heavily, Lewis gulped down four Ibuprofen and ate a poptart for breakfast, quickly running upstairs to shower and dress for a day of doing absolutely nothing.

It was wrong in a lot of ways, to both my kind and his. But I couldn't help myself as I watched Lewis scramble about to get ready for the day. His shower was quick, but he forgot to set out a towel. I probably should have looked away, but I didn't. And then he couldn't find the shirt he wanted to wear, so he went around the house twice in nothing, but a towel.

Finally, he was dressed and his hair had been dried. He did nothing else with it, it fell into a light, natural curl and the wildness of his hair was completely sexy.

I probably shouldn't have thought the things I did while watching Lewis and I probably should have left, but I didn't. And I never wanted to.

Lewis jumped and squealed when he heard a knock on the door, almost falling off the couch. His cheeks flushed pink at his girly scream and he quickly got up to see who was there. He didn't expect who he saw, at all.

"Stefan? What are you doing here?"

The handsome man didn't meet his gaze and his hands repeatedly moved around each other in a confusing circle. It took a second before Lewis realized that Stefan was nervous.

"Are you alright?" He asked, stepping to the side to let Stefan enter.

"Fine. I'm fine, really." Stefan looked off into the distance, still refusing to meet Lewis' eyes.

"Are you sure? You seem a little tense."

"Well, I came by to um... ask you something."

Lewis raised a brow, "Ask away."

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out on a date... with me," Stefan swallowed hard. "I understand if you don't... feel comfortable. We did only meet a week ago, so please, don't try to save my feelings if you -"

Lewis cut him off with his hand, smiling gently. "Of course, I'll go, silly. What idiot would pass up an opportunity to go out on a date with you?"

The joy I felt when he said yes was so overwhelming that I grinned at Lewis and had the urge to yank him into a kiss. But I restrained myself and planted a small one on his cheek. He flushed a light pink and my heart fluttered at his natural beauty. I now believed that beauty is seen by the beholder. Lewis was beautiful to me, his looks just hit me with a sharp bang. But most of his beauty came from his personality and that's what I admired about him. That and his gorgeous chocolate eyes.

************************

Lewis Salvatore groaned at his reflection in the mirror, deciding that whenever he wanted to look good and impress someone, his body refused to do that. In fact, he looked even worse than usual. Dressed in his favorite pair of jeans: the ones that hugged his ass nicely, and his favorite shirt: a black button down that was made to show off the top of his chest. And made it obvious he was gay too.

But he thought he looked great in it. At least, he used to. It was always something about wanting to look sexy that turned his sexiness off. Or maybe, he just wasn't capable of looking sexy.

Damn him if that was true.

Sighing, he picked up his tooth brush and furiously began to brush his teeth. Afterwords he dried his hair with Beth's blowdryer and applying a small amount of gel to defuse the frizz.

Finally, he put on his silver chain necklace, liking the way he put off his tan complexion and hairless chest. That was one thing about Lewis, he never looked his age because he still had his baby features, like his soft skin and not a single hair on his chest or any other part of his body other than his head. It was ridiculous. Then again, some people go for the hairless. At least he wasn't a gorilla.

Getting one last glance at himself in the mirror he scowled at the reflection and left the bathroom, heading downstairs to wait for Stefan. He felt like the girl in this relationship, being the one who was insecure about his looks and being picked up for the date. But that was also stereotypical.

Lewis gently slapped himself to clear his mind of his ranting, it wasn't good for his self esteem. So instead, he began to wonder where Stefan would take them. Dinner? A movie? Possibly star seeing? Lewis loved star seeing. He'd always wondered what space really looked like. Was it beautiful? Was it just black because the light was different out there? Were the stars actually silver? Or were they yellow like the sun? Possibly blue or purple?

He wondered if he could ever live out there, on the moon or something. Get away from the dying planet and its populate.

Just as he began to fantasize what he could do if he lived on the moon, the door bell rang. He sprang from his chair, feeling like a teenage girl and ran to answer it. His heart thudded excitedly at the sight of Stefan standing before him.

He had the badass thing going. And damn, could he pull it off.

Tight fitting jeans (not too tight) and a plain white shirt with the leather jacket that complimented his muscles. If this situation had been any different, Lewis would have been scared. Stefan was taller than him, bigger in muscle and much, much stronger. He knew that first hand, almost got the crap beaten out of him. Which was still strange to him, almost didn't seem real at this point. He was going on a date with his attacker.

Date. He liked the sound of that. It's been way too long.

"You ready?" Stefan asked, completely unaware of Lewis' mental ranting.

"Definitely."

The man smiled and led him to his Porsche, opening the passenger door for him like a gentleman before walking over to his side. Lewis beamed with happiness, excited for the night to begin.

As Stefan pulled out of his driveway, he looked at Lewis in a way that made him nervous.

"What?"

Stefan met his gaze and he smiled almost nervously. "I just can't help, but notice how sexy you look this evening."

Lewis practically glowed with self pride at hearing my compliment. A compliment that was completely true. I wanted to stop the car right then and there and ravish him for hours. But that wouldn't have been real gentleman like, would it?

They went to dinner first and had nice, easy conversations. Lewis was surprised how easy and comfortable it was to be around Stefan Vandousen. It was like they'd known each other for years, they clicked like two pieces of the puzzle. It was refreshing for Lewis to know that even if he and Stefan didn't end up dating, they could be really good friends.

After eating, Stefan took Lewis out to a movie, which was extremely entertaining. Though Stefan didn't exactly look like he was paying attention to it.

The movie... well, I couldn't even remember the main plot. I was paying more attention to Lewis than anything else. The way he laughed at the characters on screen, the way his smile lit up his entire being, the way his body moved when he shifted his positions, the way he simply held himself was extremely sexy. Tonight I didn't want the romantics of the first date, I wanted Lewis.

The movie ended and Stefan then took Lewis out to the bench. They lied out on the grass and watched the stars, the moon tinier than last time. Neither of them spoke a word and their hands were joined between their bodies. Lewis could sense that Stefan wanted to do something, something big, but he was too shy to ask.

But then, he didn't have to.

Stefan rolled over so that he lied on top of Lewis' body, a look in his eyes that heightened Lewis' senses and made his heart start pounding. Stefan leaned forward until their lips met and Lewis went nuts. His hands grasped Stefan's lower back, digging into the skin as he moved his lips with a ferocity he didn't know he contained.

Stefan made a pleasured noise, a noise that encouraged Lewis to keep going. So he did.

Running his fingers up and down his back, semi wrapping his legs around his waist and dipping his tongue into the kiss. One of Stefan's hands ran along Lewis' thigh repeatedly. Lewis reached between Stefan's legs and gave a hard squeeze. Their kiss broke as Stefan groaned loudly, his face tucking into Lewis' shoulder.

Lewis let his fingers do the walking through Stefan's pants, his jeans adding to the friction and loving the sounds that came from the man's throat. He loved that such a dominate man could be dominated by him, that he, Lewis Salvatore, could make a man's eyes roll back into his head and shed his clothes.

Except they didn't shed clothes, they started to. Their shirts lied on the grass, rumpled and carelessly thrown and their legs were tangled by their feet. But as Stefan began to undo his jeans, Lewis started freaking out and jerked away, quickly scrambling to his feet and running. His embarrassment was what made him keep going, but he didn't get very far.
Figures that Stefan was faster than him, even if he'd gotten a head start.

"Lewis, what happened? Are you okay?" Stefan gripped his shoulders, his eyes full of worry.

Lewis shook his head repeatedly, his eyes closed tightly as he tried to break free from Stefan's grasp. When it didn't work he got more and more frustrated with himself.

"Lewis, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"Everything!" Lewis exploded. "Damn it, everything's wrong! I can't do anything right!"

Stefan stared at him in shock and then quickly recovered himself. "Lewis, relax. You need to sit down and breathe. Explain your reaction to me."

"No. No, I can't. I need to get home, take a bath or something. Just - just let me go, please."

He escaped Stefan's grip and began to walk away, but Stefan grabbed him again. He yanked his wrist away.

"Don't touch me!... Please."

Stefan stared at him in hurt for a moment and then his expression changed to that of frustration. "Look, Lewis, I don't know what happened, but I don't need you giving me the cold shoulder. I didn't have to go one this date with you. In fact, it would have saved me a lot of trouble."

"Then why did you?"

Stefan met his eyes and simply said, "because some people are just too interesting to forget."