I don't wanna watch them.  Every time Herc disappears in the night, I swear I won't follow him. And every time I quietly throw off my blanket and hurry after the dark form moving through the forest.  It's easy to tell when he first sees Ares.  He doesn't freeze, exactly.  More like the breath leaves his body, and he kinda...melts a little.

That's almost worse than the night's first kiss.  Almost.  ‘Cause you can see how much his brother means to Herc when his body turns to sun-warmed honey.   You see, in spite of everything he says--all the teeth-gnashing and bitching and moaning--Ares means everything to him.  Why d'you think he won't tell me about this?  ‘Cause he knows I'll figure it out, and Herc doesn't want to hurt me.  Not his oldest friend.  Not good ol' Iolaus.

I've tried to make sense of it.  Trust me. We're talking every day, for hours--wheels of the brain spinning and spinning.  How can he love Ares that way, and not me?  Why am I just a friend, and Ares his lover?  I live my fucking life for Herc--hell, I've died for him.  But whenever I try to push our friendship further, he always backs off.  Like a few weeks ago.  We're in Megara, and I suggest we go get a few drinks.  He's cool with that--monsters are fought, villagers are happy--so we head to the Raging Boar for a few drafts of strong Egyptian beer.

Soon we're both laughing at everything: like how I can't say ‘Hercules' without slurring the final  ‘s', and how he can't tell a joke without screwing up the punchline. It's getting hot in the crowded bar, so I suggest we split.  Ok, maybe I was hoping that tonight'd be the night.  We're outside in the cool night air, still laughing like idiots, when I make a crack about the waitress' big tits, and how I bet they'd make great pillows.

Herc rolls his eyes.  "You've always got sex on the brain, Iolaus."

Ok. That burns ‘cause he spent last night having his cock sucked by Ares ‘til just before dawn.  "You got a problem with that?"  I say it like it's a joke, but he hears something in my tone.

"Just make sure she's not married."

"I think she is...Know anyone else who'd be willing to fuck a semi-attractive sidekick?"

He laughs, but there's a sick sound underneath.  "I'm sure lots of people would."

"Yeah...Name one."

But Herc won't bite.  He won't say, ‘Me. I wanna fuck you, Iolaus.'  Instead, it's, "You've always had plenty of lovers--nothing'll change that."

Whatever the fuck that means.  The ultimate generic statement.  So I try to get more explicit.  "Have you ever thought what it'd be like if we--"

Then comes the cut-off.  "Iolaus, I think you need some sleep.  You're drunker than a Dionysian priest."  The laugh follows, so I won't be offended.

"I need to cum," I tell him, and head back into the bar.  I spend the night with the waitress, whose tits do make good pillows.  Herc, presumably, spends the night fucking and sucking his sworn enemy.

And now here I am again, watching them.  I know it's sick, especially since I can't keep my hand off my cock, but it's even sicker that Herc is fucking Ares.  He's got one big fist against the god's mouth ‘cause Ares is noisy--lots of moaning and cries of  "Oh Herc--harder!"  His back is silvery with sweat in the moonlight, and his ass moves in and out of the shadows with each deep thrust.

Then I hear the now-familiar gasp which means Herc's cumming.  His back gets so tense he looks like a statue, then he melts for the second time.  Ares reacts to the semen pouring into his ass by hitting the tree so hard there's a loud *crack* as he splits the core.  Then I can tell he's cumming too, ‘cause he always reaches behind to grab Herc's ass, pushing his brother deeper inside him.

Every muscle in my body's begging for release, but I slow my hand.  I'm no god, or half-god--I can't cum a dozen times, and I want my orgasm timed to the best/worst part of their play.  It won't be for awhile, yet.  They like to wrestle after the initial orgasms.

That's starting now: Ares suddenly stands, kicking back, and lands a good blow to his brother's hip.  Herc staggers, and the god whirls around, diving on top of him.  Both cocks are still leaking, and semen smears over their coiled bodies, mixing with the sweat.  I can't tell where one begins and the other ends...And I realize it's ‘cause they've literally become one again--Herc, lying on his brother, has taken Ares' cock up his ass, and they're kissing, tongues rammed down each other's throats.

It's been a few days since they last did it, so the sex is even more intense than usual. My fault.  I've been keeping Herc up til the sky turns pink, babbling about anything I can think of, pinching myself under the blanket when I start to drift off.  Maybe it's lack of sleep that's making this time seem worse than ever.  My hands are shaking and my stomach's swirling like Charybdis' waters. I think...I think that if they could die, I'd kill them now.  A quick slash of a blade across Ares' throat, then a sharp jab of the knife into Herc's heart.

My mind's so scrambled from lack of sleep I consider doing it anyway.  Just as a gesture, you know?  So they'd understand how I felt.  But it'd backfire.  Ares'd laugh and probably slam my sorry ass into the nearest tree.  Herc'd give me one of those pitying looks, like I'm two dinars short of a drachma. It'd be even more humiliating than standing under this pine, jerking off in the dark.

Ares is getting close--his ragged breathing is louder than the pounding in my ears, and he's thrusting up so hard that Herc's really losing it, tossing back his head and nearly howling at the moon.  The god starts roughly milking his brother's cock with one hand,  pinching Herc's right nipple with the other.

"...bastard...hate you...prick...so beautiful...love you..."  Ares' muttered words always start off insulting, then he just gives up and admits how he feels.  It's almost sweet, how he tries to deny that he's in love with Herc, but then confesses it--like saying the words makes it even better for him.  Herc always loses it when he hears the "love you" part.  Honestly, I think Ares could just whisper ‘I love you' in his brother's ear, and Herc'd cum.

I'd point this out to ‘em if anyone ever asked me what I thought of all this.  But I don't think that'll be happening anytime soon.  No one seems overly interested in my opinion here.  Maybe I should walk into the clearing. ‘Hi guys.  Mind if I join you?' What's the worst they could say?  Look, I know it's a fantasy.  Typical romance crap like the kind Gabs writes:  like maybe they know I'm here and want that to happen, but aren't sure of my response, so they're trying to provoke me to action.

I had a dream like that once, sorta.  The god, about to cum in Herc's mouth, looks up (he likes to see his cock sliding in and out between his brother's lips) and smiles.  "Come on, Iolaus.  Help me out."  Herc keeps sucking, but I figure he's ok with it, so I go over to them, kneeling behind Ares, and take Herc's cock into my mouth.  It tastes so sweet I nearly explode, but I suck it as hard as I can, until he's writhing.  But then I realize that he's trying to get away from me--that he doesn't want me there at all.

That's when I wake up, breathing hard, wondering if they'll ever get sick of each other.  Looking out into the grove, though, I don't think so.  They're just as obsessed with each other as they were when this started a year ago.  More, really.  When we're talking and Ares' name comes up, Herc won't even look at me anymore.  He gets still, then says, eyes on the sun or the town in the distance or the ceiling, "Ares...Can't talk about him anymore.  Too painful."

Too painful my ass.  Try being me for a day.  Try being me right now, watching Ares cum inside Herc.  Inside my best friend.  Inside the guy I've loved since I was a kid.  Now Herc's cumming, and his brother somehow grabs him by the hips, pulling him down so that Herc's cock reaches his mouth, and sucks him dry.

The air's warming as the sun looms behind the hills, and it's time for them to finish.  The night's climax, so to speak.  Ares can't get enough of Herc's cum...He'd lick his brother's cock forever if he could.  Right now he's pushing Herc up against a tree, then starts sucking him again.

My best friend's cock fills at once.  Ares, I've gathered, gives great head.  You can see it on Herc's face, which is why I love this part.  With the god busy between his thighs, Herc's expression turns soft.  Now, you hafta remember that Herc's not an expressive guy.  But when his brother's tongue is lovingly tracing every line and vein on his cock, Herc's face opens.

So does my heart.  Together, we melt.

It's not much, but I'll take what I can get.  Who knows.  Maybe someday they'll ask me to join them.

Or maybe not.