Date: Sun, 11 Dec 2011 00:22:28 -0600
From: J Wolfstone <argouru@gmail.com>
Subject: Sons of Sparta, Book 3 chapter 18

Sons of Sparta - A Story of the Spartans, Book 3

(inspired by the story 'Spartan' parts 1 through 4)

by argouru

Note: All credit for the creation of the Spartans and Amazons, as well as
the Spartan mythos belongs to the author 'CF', to whom I owe special thanks
for his allowing me to write about these incredible people.

WARNING: Portions of this installment of the series includes a section
regarding mental illness.


18.


Sam and Daniel had laid there, next to each other in bed and listening with
amused smiles to the sounds of Henry and John making love.  They'd been
deeply worried for their oldest son, who had possessed a partner-phobia,
for lack of a better term, for nearly two decades now.  But he had found
his partner, overcome his fears and now was beginning to build a
relationship with the man who seemed to need the bond even more than Henry
did.

Sam grinned as he heard his son orgasm.  "That's my boy," he said proudly
in a low voice.

Daniel groaned in suffering.  "You're impossible."

"What?" Sam asked, looking at his partner as they laid in bed together.
"Don't tell me you're not happy for him."

"I am," Daniel said slowly, "but you don't need to act so vulgar all the
time.  I still haven't forgiven you for that pedo joke you made in regards
to Henry."

"That was years ago!" Sam replied in shock.  "You sure know how to hold a
grudge!" he teased with a smile.

"For a joke like that, you'd better believe it!" Daniel said firmly, then
softened his expression.  "I love you Babe, but sometimes your warped sense
of humor goes too far.  Yet at the same time, I don't want you to feel like
you have to change.  You'd think after nearly thirty years together I'd
have gotten used to it." He leaned over and kissed Sam deeply with passion,
then pulled away.  "So you think they'll be okay now?"

"They're finally starting to get used to each other," Sam said slowly, then
sighed.  "But I think John has a good ways to go yet.  I'd recommend he
stay here for a while until he gets on his feet both financially -and-
mentally.  I don't think we'll ever be able to truly understand what all
he's been through.  It's like he didn't have a single person in his life
who treated him decently...  No wonder he ended up suicidal.  It's funny...
When I was his age, I would've given anything for a family.  He seems as
though he wishes he'd never had one at all."

"You really identify with him a lot, don't you?" Daniel asked softly.

"Yeah," Sam replied in a whisper.  "I used to be very much like him.
Daniel...  There's something I never told you.  Back before we met, I
didn't want to live anymore."

"You were suicidal?" Daniel asked gently.

"I was originally, but no matter how many times I tried, I couldn't go
through with it.  I eventually gave up on trying and just waited for my
life to end.  I hated myself for being so weak that I couldn't go through
with it.  I felt weak...  I gave up on caring about anything and became a
bitter and lonely person.  That's what I was when we first met.  I felt
like it was a trick.  Like I was being offered what I wanted most and that
without warning, it would all be snatched away again.  That's why I had
such a hard time accepting our bond at first."

"I figured you'd been that way.  All that matters is that you're happy
now."

"Thanks," Sam said, kissing him again.  "I think it would be better for
them if John stayed here a few months so they can take their bond slowly
and get to know each other better."

"Sounds good," Daniel yawned and stretched.  "I'll make us all some
breakfast," he said, climbing out of bed.

"Want some help?"

"Sure, but let’s shower first."

Sam rose and stretched, then followed his partner nude downstairs, grabbing
a pair of robes along the way, and went to the downstairs bathroom to
shower together...



After breakfast for the six of them, the twins looked to their parents.
"We prayed to Lord Apollo," Marcus began, "and He said He'll do everything
to support our decision, but we should make sure the rest of the family is
alright with it first.  We want to tell you guys so you'll know in
advance."

Jason took a deep breath, wincing slightly from the pain it caused to his
filaments.  "We've decided that we don't want to hide our bond anymore.  We
know it's only a matter of time until it comes out and we want to be the
ones to choose when that happens.  We won't do it until all of the family
has had adequate warning, but we really want to do so."

"Won't that be difficult?" John asked.  "In a family this big, there's
bound to be someone who will object."

"We know," Marcus said heavily.  "And we figure that if they want to
publicly disown us for their own protection, we'll understand."

Henry was shocked.  "Disown you?!? Bullshit!" he exclaimed.  "That's
absurd! I know you guys only want to be able to not have to hide your
relationship, but letting anyone disown you because of it is crazy! We
won't allow it!"

"Henry," Daniel said gently.  "That's unfair to others.  You can't force
them to behave the way you want them too.  I'd hate to see it happen too,
but we have to respect the wishes of each individual."

"We should have the whole family together for this," Sam said.  "Can you
guys hold off until next month's family get-together? It would probably be
the next soonest time we can get everyone together so you can tell them all
at once."

"I guess we can wait that long," Jason said.

"What about all of you, though?" Marcus asked.  "Are you guys okay with
this?"

"I've known for years," Henry said.  "It's alright by me.  The hospital
would be really stupid to fire me as I'm the only person on staff who knows
any medicine for Spartans and Amazons.  If they do try to fire me just
because of the way my brothers live their lives, I'll sue them for
discrimination."

"Same here," Daniel said.  "I didn't make it all the way up to manager of
the agency just to be chucked out over something like that."

"Dad Sam?" Jason asked nervously.

Sam sighed.  "Well, the temple has survived everything else.  I'm not too
worried for myself or it.  I'm actually more worried about you guys."

"Lord Apollo said He'd do everything He could to help us," Marcus said,
then he turned to the human nervously.  "John? Are you okay with this.  I
know we only just met, but still...  As a member of the family now, this
will affect you too."

John shrugged.  "I never really had much of a life to be affected by any
kind of scandal.  The important thing is that you're both happy."

"You're awfully open-minded," Daniel said, looking at his new son-in-law
with surprise.

John shrugged again.  "Well, it's certainly different, but it's just not
that big a deal to me.  Your kids will be healthy and that's the only real
argument against you being a couple, so what the hey?"

"Thank you," Jason said gratefully.  "That really means a lot...
Especially after the way I treated you yesterday.  I'm really sorry about
that.  I didn't know what you'd been through.  It was wrong to make
assumptions about you.  I'm sorry for how I behaved."

"It's alright," John said simply, turning his arms over and staring at the
faded scars on his wrists thoughtfully.  "Your hormones were acting up.
Besides," he added, looking up at Jason.  "It helped me in an odd way..."

"How so?" Daniel asked while Sam looked at John curiously.

"Well," John answered.  "If you'd said all that to me back when I still had
the illness, I would've got really depressed and suicidal...  But I didn't.
For the first time since I can remember, I was able to handle being treated
badly.  It helped me to see that I truly am free from my depression, so
thanks for that.  Also, I accept your apology.  If you guys want to come
out, then I won't object."

"Well, thanks for being so supportive," Marcus said.  "It's good to see
that Henry's partner turned out to be such a nice guy."

"Yeah," Sam added.  "It's...  Okay that you're a good person, I guess," he
said with a slightly strained smile.

"Sam," Daniel said in a mild tone of warning, glaring at his partner.

"What? Can't I at least dream that he was otherwise?" Sam protested.

John stared at the bearded man questioningly, Jason sighed.  "Dad Sam,
enough with the evil mastermind routine...  It's too early in the day for
that."

"Not until you two finish the weather control device!" Sam retorted in a
crotchety manner.  "You should have had it finished ages ago!"

Henry groaned and buried his head in his hands.  John saw this and turned
to the priest.  "I'll help," he added enthusiastically.  "What do you
need?"

Everyone stared at him, all looking at the human and feeling stunned and
worried...  All except for Sam, that was, who grinned broadly.  "A supply
of plutonium to act as the power source is the main thing we still need for
the device."

"Um..." John said slowly, looking thoughtful.  "I'll have to do some
digging around, but I'll get back to you on that once I check with a few of
my sources."

"Oh no..." Daniel groaned in intense suffering.  "Not another one..." He
could only stand there numbly, staring at John with a horrified
expression...



Steven laid there in Giorgos' bed, staring at his human partner with worry.
Giorgos had taken the revelation of the twins' bond in the predictable
fashion, with horror.  All the way here in the back of Steven's
grandparents' van, he had hardly spoken and they had remained that way once
they arrived at the Grecian family's house.  His mother Inna had noted her
son's distress and asked what was wrong, but he only told her that Jason
had been Emergent and moody, blaming his own foul mood on that.

They went into the human's bedroom for the night, where Steven had thanked
him for not saying anything to his mother about what he had learned.
Giorgos scoffed sourly.  "What to tell my mama, huh? That my in-laws are
inbreeders?" He'd seen the look of deep hurt on his Spartan partner's face
at that and relented with a sigh.  "Enough.  We go to bed."

Steven got into bed, feeling a mixture of emotions...  Sadness at Giorgos'
anger, guilt at having lied to him and anger at the human's bigoted
reaction.  How could Giorgos act this way? What as worse was the fact that
he acted as though he felt betrayed by Steven for not having been warned
about this in advance.  Feeling completely sour of mood, he turned his back
on the human and slept facing away from him.

Steven awoke first to find his partner still asleep, yet now facing him.
He laid there, watching the human slumber, feeling sad.  He remained that
way for some time before the Grecian's face screwed up and his mouth
opened.  Steven smiled slightly in spite of himself as he watched the man
he loved begin to yawn.

"ACHOO!" Giorgos exclaimed, suddenly sneezing.

"EW!" Steven exclaimed in revulsion, wiping spittle from his visage.
"Right in my fucking face!" he added, scrubbing frantically with his hands.

"Sorry," Giorgos said, awkening at the sneeze and Steven saw the man smile
at him...  But then the smile fell to be replaced by a look of discomfort.
He rolled over, snatched a shirt off the floor and handed it to his lover.
"Here."

"Thanks," Steven said dispiritedly, wiping the offending discharge from his
face and tossing the shirt aside.  He laid back down as Giorgos settled
down beside him, the pair staring into each others' eyes.  "Do you hate
me?" Steven asked timidly.

"No," the human replied with a heavy heart.  "But I am hurt that you did
not tell me sooner.  Steven...  A thing this big? I had the right to know.
You should have told me the truth of your brothers."

"I couldn't," Steven whispered sadly.

"It is not your fault they are lovers.  I would not have blamed you.  You
should have told me.  I have met them before and have begun to know them.
You should not have kept this from me.  It hurts that you did not trust me
enough to say the truth."

"Giorgos..." Steven said firmly.  "I -couldn't- tell you.  It had nothing
to do with wanting to, which I did, for the record.  I literally -could
not- tell you."

"What does this mean? 'Could not' tell me?"

"I was under the power of a divine oath! I wasn't permitted to tell you,
even though I really wanted to.  If I had tried, Lord Apollo would've
prevented me from getting the words out."

"What?" Giorgos asked in confusion.  "Steven! This makes no sense!"

"Giorgos!" Steven exclaimed.  "My god literally forbade me from speaking
about it to ANYONE who didn't already know!" Steven said fiercely, keeping
his voice down to avoid having all of the Grecian family hear them arguing.

The human shook his head in disbelief.  "Steven, I know you believe this
strange cult of yours, but for me-"

"It's not a cult, Giorgos!" Steven retorted, feeling deeply offended.  "I'm
Apolline and proud of it! I thought you were more tolerant of my religion!"
he added, feeling hurt and sitting up in bed.

"Steven, do not be this way," the human said, feeling upset that the
Spartan was taking his skepticism so harshly.  "You cannot expect me to
believe in this...  God of sunlight of yours."

"But I came to church with you!" Steven said.  "I sat there and listened to
that priest of yours spout on and on about a divine plan for all humans and
that Spartans were a part of it.  I was horrified and offended, but I said
nothing! I sat there and behaved myself instead of telling that man that he
didn't have a clue."

Giorgos looked guilty.  "My parents insisted that we go with them.  They
are believers and I want them to accept you."

"Wait...  'They' are believers? What about you? Don't you share your
family's faith?"

"I...  Do not know what to believe," the human admitted with difficulty.
"I go because it is expected of me, but I enjoy it no more than you."

Steven wanted to laugh, but felt too shocked and offended to do more than
scoff derisively.  "So you let them drag you along and made me go too? And
now you dump all over my beliefs because you don't have any of your own?
Giorgos...  That's just wrong!"

"What can I do? Say no to my mama and papa? I cannot do that but neither
can I believe in this pagan god you worship!"

"So I got dragged along to your church where you only pay lip service and
then ridicule my faith? No," Steven said, shaking his head.  "No, no, no!
If you're going to slam my religion, then you're going to know what it is
you're slamming! We're going to next Saturday morning prayer and I'm not
accepting no for an answer!" Giorgos opened his mouth to protest, but
Steven cut him off.  "I said I'm not taking no for an answer.  We'll spend
the night at my home and go with the family.  It's only fair, Giorgos," he
finished, looking hurt.

The human opened and closed his mouth, trying to come up with a valid
argument, but could not.  In the end, he sighed with resignation.  "My
parents must not know," he said quietly.  "They will not understand."

"Fair enough," Steven answered calmly...



Henry had to leave for home for a while and John was sad to see him leave
the kitchen.  He got a shock, however, when Daniel sighed with relief once
his eldest son was gone.  "I thought he'd never leave," the man muttered.
He turned to John with a smile.  "Okay, get dressed.  Time to take you out
shopping!" the Spartan said with a smile.

"Shopping?" John asked in confusion.  "What for?"

"Clothes, of course!" Daniel said, then his smile softened to a pitying
look.  "No offense John, but your clothing is practically falling apart.
When's the last time you bought new clothing for yourself?"

John shuffled in place nervously.  The truth was, it had been several years
since he had last bought clothes.  Since Jim had bled him dry financially
by making John pay most of the rent and all of the utilities, there'd
barely been enough money left to buy the minimum amount of food he needed
to survive, leaving none for anything else.  His clothing was all at least
second hand, save the shoes, and he kept his arms at his sides to avoid
showing the holes he'd worn into the armpits of the shirt he wore now.
Admittedly though, there'd been a second reason.  His depression had made
him to feel as though nice clothing was a wasted effort on him.  Why look
nice when you, along with everyone else, didn't care? He couldn't bring
himself to answer the question.

"Too long then," Daniel said gently, seeing the human fighting not to show
his discomfort.  "So come on then," he added.

"I uh...  Can't afford to buy very much," John said, looking ashamed of
himself.

"Oh nonsense!" Daniel countered.  "I'll buy it all for you." John looked at
the Spartan with shock and guilt, then slowly shook his head and opened his
mouth to protest.  "I insist!" Daniel added, interrupting him.  "If it'll
ease your conscience, just think of it as an early birthday present.  Um...
When is your birthday, exactly?"

"Early December," John answered.

Daniel did the math and realized it was half a year away.  "Right then," he
said with a nod.  "Belated birthday gift, it is! Come on, get ready to go!"

"But I c-" John began, but Sam interrupted him, having watched the entire
conversation with interest.

"Forget it, John," the bearded Spartan said, shaking his head sadly.  "You
won't win an argument against him.  Daniel was debating champion in high
school and had a near perfect record, from what he said, so arguing is a
lost cause from the get-go."

"Alright, I guess," John said, feeling guilty.

"What about you?" Daniel asked his partner.  "Want to tag along?"

"No," the priest said slowly.  "One person flinging clothes at him to try
on is enough.  I'll swing by Matt and David's, pick the kids up and go
spend some time out with them.  Maybe go see a movie, or something.  Spend
a little quality time with them, you know?"

"Okay, we'll see you later then," he said, kissing Sam briefly, but
passionately.  The pair pulled away reluctantly despite having sated their
lust only this morning in the shower.  "Love you, Babe."

"Love you too, Love," Sam said tenderly, then turned to the human.  "I
wanna see what you end up in for your date with Henry tonight, okay?"

"Sure," John said numbly, still shocked at the gentle, yet firm way the
Spartan parents were treating him.

"Well," Sam said.  "I'd better get dressed.  Since I'm not at the temple I
can't go around in a robe all day.  The boys would never let me live it
down if I was out in public with them in my work clothes or a variation
thereof.  Have fun guys," he said cheerfully with a wave of the hand as he
left the kitchen.

"Okay," Daniel said with a grin.  "Let's go shopping!"

John rose slowly and went to go get ready, feeling apprehensive...



"Now," Daniel said, looking through the rack of shirts on hangers.  "We
need to find out what colors look good on you."

"Colors?" John asked in confusion.

"Well yeah," the Spartan replied, surprised at the human's confusion.  "You
don't want to end up in the wrong colors and look strange, do you?"

"What are you talking about?" John asked, baffled by his...  Well...
Father-in-law, he supposed...  's words.

Daniel looked at him for a moment, then looked along the rack, picked out a
neon orange shirt and gestured to the mirror.  "Stand there a moment," he
instructed, grabbing another shirt from the rack and walking over.  "Now,"
he said, "note how your skin looks in comparison to the white shirt you
have on.  Looks kind of pinkish, right?" John nodded.  "Now," he said,
holding the orange shirt up to the human's chest.  Notice how you skin
looks against the orange."

"Urgh!" John exclaimed, seeing that his skin now looked a horrible
orange-yellow peach color, like a badly exposed pic.

"Exactly," Daniel answered.  "But...  Compare your skin to this dark blue
shirt," he said, holding it to John's chest.  The human had to admit that
this looked much better, giving his skin a more flesh-tone color.  "That's
what the importance of color is," Daniel instructed.  "Now...  dark colors
work better on you.  Let's see...  Dark blue, green," he said, holding a
shirt of that color to John's arm to see the effect, "Grays work okay...
And black always works...  Then...  Dark brown.  Okay then, now that we
have the colors down, what style of shirts do you like best?"

John pointed to a table display.  "Those are alright."

"John, those are t-shirts! You can't go on a nice date in a t-shirt! Pick a
nice one! Like...  This one," he said, picking up a long-sleeved button
front shirt.

"That's way too fancy!" John protested, looking at it uncomfortably.

Daniel rolled his eyes.  "It's just a button-front shirt John, not a
tuxedo!" He dropped it into the shopping cart.

"But-" John began.

"No! No buts!" Daniel countered stubbornly.  "If you're going to be bonded
to my son, you'll look nice for your dates with him!" He looked at his
son-in-law sadly.  "Haven't you ever worn nice clothes?"

"Not really," John replied casually.  "It's always been jeans or sweats
with t-shirts."

"Why?" the Spartan asked.

John shrugged.  "It never really mattered."

"What?" Daniel asked, shocked by the man's answer.

"Well," the human replied simply.  "You know what they say: 'You can take
the trash out of the trailer, but you can't take the trailer out of the
trash'." He turned away.

Angered, Daniel grabbed his shoulder and spun him back to face him.  "Don't
say that! You're not trash, John!" He lifted his hand and placed it gently
against the lad's cheek.  "I mean it," he said sadly.  "Don't you ever
think that way about yourself.  Not ever!"

"Sorry," John replied in a defeated manner, looking downward.  "Guess I'm
just used to thinking that way about myself...  Force of habit."

"What kind of monsters are those humans who raised you?" Daniel asked, his
eyes misting up with pity.  "How can anyone treat a nice guy like you that
way? To make you hate yourself this much?"

"Look," John said thickly, hanging his head.  "I don't really want to do
this here."

Daniel looked around, remembering where they were.  "Right," he said,
letting the human go reluctantly even though all he wanted to do was hug
the man fiercely.  He couldn't resist patting his shoulder gently before
letting go, however.  "Well," he said, recovering.  "You're dressing nice
from now on, especially when you're out on dates! No arguments! We need to
look at pants, next," he said, tossing several shirts into the cart then
wheeling it away, John following him and feeling guilty at just how much
all of this would end up costing.

At the shoe department, John balked again.  "Why do you want those ones?"
Daniel asked when he saw the shoes John wanted.  "They have Velcro!"

"I like Velcro," John countered gently.  "Easier than laces and they don't
come undone.  I like shoes I don't have to fight all day."

Daniel sighed in disgust.  "Fine, some Velcro ones too, then.  But you're
getting some with laces too!"

John's face scrunched up.  "What do I need more than one pair for?"

Daniel sighed in disgust.  "Go pick out some socks! Black ones and some
other dark solid color ones too.  And get both short and long ones!"

"Alright," John said, walking away and shaking his head sadly and the
Spartan's attitude about clothes.

Once he was gone, Daniel snatched two more pairs for him, both black.  One
was similar to the Velcro ones, but with laces and the other a set of nice
dress shoes.  He stashed them under the shirts and moved to follow the
human to the socks, feeling sad that he had to practically ram his
generosity down the human's throat....