By Aramis

DISCLAIMER: The characters belong to MCA/Universal and were used without permission. No copyright infringement was intended and no money was made

Person: Hephaestus
Prop: feather boa
Position: penetratee is atop the penetrator
Place: Hephaestus' forge
Piece of clothing: a toga fashioned from silver mesh

Iolaus stripped quickly down to his breechclout, buckled his belt and sheath back around his waist and dumped his other clothing under a convenient bush. He debated wearing his boots, but decided against it, as he did not want to risk getting them wet. Then he grabbed his carry-bag containing his fishing gear and started picking his way from rock to rock, working his way to the furthermost one.

The last few were reasonably widely spaced and he had to jump between them. Fortunately they were dry, and because they were rarely covered by the tide, lacked the sharp barnacles on their tops that festooned their sides, so he managed to both keep his balance and to avoid more than a few minor cuts to his feet.

One last leap and he was at his goal, a rock some four feet long and two feet wide, about thirty feet from the beach.

He squatted down and got out his fishing gear. He had never fished that particular stretch of coastline before and, having several hours to wait before he could expect the demigod to arrive, had decided to fill in his time, by trying his luck.

Fill in his time? The phrase made fishing, an activity normally dear to the hunter sound very boring and something to be embarked upon only as a last resort. In truth, Iolaus' heart was not really in it.

He stretched out in the warm sun and idly watched the dancing sea and felt depressed. 'Damn it,' he thought, 'I am seeing him tomorrow. I should be happy.' However, he was not.

The beginning of his disquiet could be dated precisely. When, during Demetrius' abduction of Alcmene, he had seen Hercules' fall, an arrow, fired by one of Hera's archers, deep in his chest, Iolaus had realized that there would be no life for him without Hercules.

Somehow he had found the strength to drag the demigod into the house and to tend his wounds. With tears rolling down his cheeks, he had prayed desperately to whichever gods might be listening and had begged Hercules not to die.

Finally, Hercules had recovered consciousness and had then nearly rent Iolaus' fragile heart in two: firstly, by insisting on going after his mother in spite of his dreadful injury, thus further endangering his own life, and secondly, by brusquely telling the hunter it was a family matter and trying to leave him behind. *That* had hurt so much.

Okay, Iolaus had gone with him anyway and Hercules *had* needed his help to defeat Demetrius and Echidna and he *had* acknowledged this, but that had not ended the matter. Not for Iolaus anyway. Not with the new awareness of just how much he loved the demigod and, unfortunately, because Hercules' comment about family stayed with him and his insecurities fed upon it.

He had no blood ties to his friend and now those of friendship were no longer enough. He had never had a male lover, but he knew he wanted Hercules.

For months, he had been trying to drum up the courage to tell Hercules exactly how he felt about him and, each time the opportunity had arisen, he had chickened out. On this occasion, he had been apart from Hercules for a week, as they dealt with separate emergencies, and he had had time to do a lot of thinking. He had played various scenarios in his head, but all seemed to end with Hercules firmly rejecting his overtures, often with considerable anger at the suggestion of such a disgusting activity.

Belatedly realizing he had not had a nibble for some minutes, he hauled his line in, baited it again and stood up ready to cast out. As he did so, he became aware of a large pink shell racing madly towards him. 'Oh, gods, Aphrodite,' he thought, 'she's all I need.'

Now some people might have thought that, under the circumstances, the arrival of the Goddess of Love would be a good thing. After all, in theory, who would be more qualified to advise the lovelorn? However, Iolaus knew better. He would not have felt comfortable discussing Hercules with any third party and Herc's flighty sister was more likely to compound his difficulties rather than solve them.

For one thing, she could not keep her hands off him. Although Iolaus, for all his infatuation for the demigod, could still enjoy flirting with a beautiful woman, since he had fallen in love he did not feel comfortable with doing more than that.

Unfortunately, Aphrodite did not take no for an answer. She saw rejection as either an insult or a challenge according to her mood and either could be dangerous. Being on the wrong side of a goddess was always dangerous and, if it came to the crunch, Iolaus could not have fended off her attentions anyway as she had all the strength of her kind if she chose to exert it, to say nothing of her other powers.

On this occasion, Aphrodite's arrival proved even more dramatic than usual. Iolaus barely had time to note that the shell was skimming over the water at an incredible speed and then it was almost upon him.

Panicking, he moved as far back on his rock as he could while trying to decide which way to jump. Then Aphrodite suddenly turned the shell broadside on and the wave caused by the manoeuvre rushed over Iolaus' rock, sweeping him off with it.

Although the water was not deep, the force of the wave prevented him from finding his feet and he was flung back into the rock directly behind his one. Needle-sharp barnacles cut all the way down his back and legs and blood pooled around him. He could not suppress a scream at the intense pain and immediately swallowed a lot of salt water. Then, the barnacles were the least of his worries as he coughed and spluttered and struggled in the surging water.

Somehow he managed to twist around and tried to drag himself onto the rock, heedless of the vicious shells slicing into his chest and hands. However, the rock was now wet and slippery and he could not get purchase.

The blue sky seemed to have gone and his confused mind wondered how night could have arrived so soon, as he blacked out, losing his grip on the rock.

When he came to, he found himself lying in the shell, with Aphrodite kneeling beside him regarding him with some concern. "What did you go and do a silly thing like that for, Sweetcheeks?" she asked.

"Wh-What?" he asked, still very dazed.

"Jumping off that rock. That was *very* dangerous," she scolded, "and you made a real yukky mess over all my nice cushions when I got you out. I had to clean everything."

"But I ..." he started, but as usual she was not listening.

"And you were a real mess yourself. I could hardly bring myself to look at you. Dissssgusting!!!"

Iolaus looked down and realized that she had healed all the damage. To his disquiet, he also saw that his breechclout was gone. He started to pull a cover over himself, but Aphrodite snatched it from him. "Don't worry, Sweetcheeks, you haven't got anything I haven't seen before, though I'd have to say a bit more of it than most, and I *love* the colour of these curls."

By way of emphasis, she reached out and patted his groin.

Iolaus blushed and tried to sink through the cushions, a reaction that seemed to both amuse and encourage her. With one graceful movement, she positioned herself between his legs and looked lasciviously at him, as she ran her long nails teasingly down the tender flesh of his inner thighs.

Then her smile widened as she had another thought. She pulled the pink feather boa from around her neck and began to trail it across his stomach. It tickled and Iolaus, in spite of his anxiety, could not suppress a giggle.

That served as an encouragement and Aphrodite drew the boa down to his groin. She ran it lightly around the base of his cock, that treacherous piece of anatomy clearly enjoying the attentions in spite of Iolaus' best efforts to ignore the maddening touches.

The hunter tried desperately to think of something to distract her. It was not that he did not find her beautiful, but he was only too aware that she was the lover of the exceptionally jealous God of Fire and Smiths, Hephaestus, who might appear at any moment. "I thought you were going to run me down," he said, hoping to redirect her thoughts.

"Nah! No danger of that, Curly. I'd never hurt *my* little Sweetcheeks. You're way too pretty to waste."

The possessive pronoun did not go unnoticed by Iolaus, nor did the hand that had slid up to toy wantonly with his balls.

"Wh-Why were you speeding like that?" he managed to squeak, while wondering frantically if he dared to try to push the caressing hand away.

"I've invented a sensational new sport. I call it jet-boating, 'cause I really get a great spray going." She smiled proudly, "Brains and athletic ability, to say nothing of beauty. Athena and Artemis have got nothing on me."

The wandering hand moved further and Iolaus squirmed as a finger brushed his anus. Somehow he had to make her stop. Perhaps a mention of the God of Fire would help. "How's Hephaestus? I-I h-haven't seen him for a while."

"Oh, him!" she said dismissively. "I'm not speaking to Hephie-Babe at present. Like he had the nerve to accuse me of flirting with Apollo just because he heard from Discord that I'd been in his chariot. Me!!! I mean I ask you!"

There was no safe way to answer that. Iolaus hoped that the question had been rhetorical and that she was not actually expecting him to reply or to share her indignation. Then he felt the finger starting to push into him. He tried to shuffle back into the bank of cushions, but there was no escape. He just *had* to distract her.

"D-Did you want me for s-something?" Even as he said it, Iolaus cursed himself for his poor choice of words.

"Yep, *want* is the word, Curly! I certainly do. Now that I've had the pleasure of seeing you like this, I can think of several good uses for you."

"But ... But what did you ...er ... want ... um ... originally?"

"Actually, Sweetcheeks, I thought you might baby-sit my shell for a while. I've got to deal with a slight hassle in one of my temples and thought you might look after it while I'm gone."

To his relief, the recollection of her earlier intent caused her to withdraw the offending digit and sit back on her haunches.

"You've got to go somewhere? Great! I-I mean I'm pleased ... er ... I'll be happy to look after your shell," Iolaus babbled.

"Thank you. Be good and I'll be back to ravish you later," she announced, smiling secretly to herself as she enjoyed the look of panic that flashed across his face. She *did* love tormenting Sweetcheeks. As a parting gesture, she reached out and tied the boa around his neck. "Just a little knot to remind me to do that," she teased.

Still holding the ends of the boa, she drew him to her for a mercifully quick kiss, somehow refraining from doing more than running the tip of her tongue against his lips.

Iolaus heaved a sigh of relief. He tried to untie the boa, but found that the goddess' knots were not to be untied by mortal hands. He debated trying to cut the thing off, but doubted whether the item would cut and feared that if it did it might annoy Aphrodite. Anyway, it was not uncomfortable so he decided to ignore it.

He lay back comfortably and stretched out in the sun. It was very pleasant to lie there in such luxury. He pictured Herc arriving to find him in the shell. The waking-dream was so powerful, he thought he could see the tall, muscular figure of the demigod standing before him, outlined against the sun and stood looking down at him. Iolaus smiled lovingly at the vision and held out his arms. Hercules stooped and, for a wonderful moment, Iolaus imagined Hercules wanted him at last and was about to take him in his arms. Then the demigod clasped his shoulders, fingers digging in brutally and shouted something about Iolaus trespassing on another's domain and all went black.

Iolaus fought his way back to consciousness and shivered. He did not know where he was, but from the cool atmosphere and the hard surface beneath him, he was no longer in the shell.

He forced his eyes open and found himself to be in some sort of workshop, secured to a chair and embarrassingly naked, apart from the feather boa, which still dangled incongruously from his neck. His legs were spread and his ankles secured to the chair legs by bands of metal. Similar bands bound his wrists tightly together behind the chair and a wide flat strip of metal encircled his chest and the back of the chair, holding him firmly and making breathing difficult.

He had no time to give more thought to his situation because, at that moment, Hephaestus appeared and glared down at him. "I thought I had made it clear that you were not to go near my 'Dite," he growled menacingly.

"I didn't!" Iolaus protested.

"Oh, yeah? Then how do you account for me finding you lounging naked in her shell?" As he spoke, he took hold of the feather boa and started to twist it so that it tightened around the hapless hunter's neck. Iolaus wondered vaguely whether it had some kind of wire running through it, as it unaccountably started to cut into his throat.

"She asked me to look after it."

"And that necessitated taking your clothes off, did it?" Hephaestus asked sarcastically.

"No, I lost my breechclout when ..."

The god interrupted. "I don't want to hear the details of your disrobing. I want your explanation for your making up to *my* 'Dite." As he spoke, he twisted the boa a bit more.

"Please, Hephaetus, you've got it wrong. I'm not interested in 'Dite," Iolaus gasped. Seeing the god's frown growing, at a possible slight to his lady, he hurried on. "I'm not ... I'm not interested in any females any more."

"Do I look that gullible?" the god asked testily.

"No, of course not, but I'm not lying. I'm *not*."

"Iolaus, even the gods are aware of your womanising."

"That's past. I'm in love with someone."

"Oh, yeah? I thought you just told me you aren't interested in females any more."

"Y-Yes, but I ... um ... you see I ..." Iolaus stammered, very reluctant to divulge details of his hopeless infatuation to anyone, much less one of the demigod's relations.

"Well? Who is she?"

"It's not a female," the hunter admitted, blushing hotly.

"What? A *man*?" The god's voice was incredulous. "You're making this up and I don't like being lied to."

"It's the truth! I'm *not* lying!"

"Name him then!"

"I-I'd rather n-not say."

"I suggest you tell me if you want to see *him* again," the God of Fire said, glowering menacingly.

"It's not ... I don't ... You see he doesn't know."

"And you expect me to believe this rubbish?"

"It's *not* rubbish!"

"Tell me then." Steel fingers locked onto Iolaus' throat pushing his head painfully back. "Tell me!"

What with the grip, the boa and the tightness of the metal band around his chest, Iolaus could hardly breathe. "P-Please ..." he gasped, his breath rasping in his throat.

"Tell me!"

Fighting for breath, the room swirling dizzily around him, Iolaus gave in and said, "H-Hercules."

The grip loosened fractionally. "It's no good asking for him. He can't help you. He doesn't know you're here."

"N-No ... No, I mean ... You d-don't understand."

"What do you mean?"

"It's Hercules. He's the person I ..."

Hephaestus let go and Iolaus' head flopped forward and he began to cough painfully. Blue bruises were already forming on his throat.

"Are you trying to tell me you're in love with Hercules?"

Iolaus nodded, his eyes downcast.

The God of Fire and Smiths stood staring at him for a few moments, clearly assessing the astounding information and, equally clearly, doubting its validity. The trouble was the god was so besotted with the goddess, he could not comprehend that others might not find her as desirable as he did. Further, he was all too aware that he was one of the few gods lacking in good looks and found it hard to believe that someone as gorgeous as the Goddess of Love could want him.

Now he looked at Iolaus' incredible golden beauty and his doubts about the hunter's veracity increased and with them his anger. The wanton, little mortal had obviously tempted Aphrodite, who was always susceptible to beauty. Well, he would pay for having the temerity to seduce a goddess and, given the nature of the blond's lies, he knew a suitable punishment.

"I'm going to find out if there's any truth in what you've been saying. Anyway, what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander and perhaps I'll also discover what my 'Dite finds so fascinating," he announced, thrusting a callused hand between Iolaus' spread thighs and fondling him roughly.

"No! Don't!" Iolaus protested in panic.

"Why not? You've just told me you want a male lover. This way you can prove it."

"No! I only want Herc."

"Why?"

"I told you I love him."

"What's that got to do with it? You of all people should appreciate the difference between sex and love."

"But ..."

"Next you'll be telling me you've been in love with all the women you've slept with over the years."

"Of course not, but ... but this is different."

"I'd say it is. *If* it's true."

"It *is*."

"I doubt that you've got any interest in males at all, but as I said, it's easy enough to prove."

He waved an imperious hand and the bands securing Iolaus' ankles and chest disappeared. His hands were still bound behind him, but no longer attached to the chair. He took several large gulps of air before the god pulled him to his feet and propelled him into the forge.

Iolaus tried to resist, but had no hope against the god's strength.

Once there, he bent Iolaus over the large anvil, holding him in position with one large hand on the nape of his neck, while undoing his own trousers.

He looked down at the creamy globes, unwillingly displayed before him, and felt an unexpected rush of lust. He almost came at the mere sight. The little mortal was indeed a dangerous temptation. No wonder poor 'Dite had been ensnared by him.

He pushed between the slender thighs, forcing them apart. Then he conjured a small jar of olive oil and cursorily coated his penis with it.

Tense and frightened, the hunter waited, knowing full well that there was nothing he could say or do to prevent what was about to happen. He thought about begging, but his pride would not allow that, so he clenched his teeth and kept silent.

Then a finger slid into him, followed by another. Iolaus tried to pull away, but there was nowhere to go. Then, all too soon, the fingers were withdrawn and the god was pushing into him, burying his cock deeply. Iolaus tried to keep quiet, but a scream rose in his throat and could not be denied. The unexpected sound sent the god immediately over the edge.

The coupling had been short, but from the hunter's point of view anything but sweet. He could not remember ever experiencing such pain.

After climaxing, Hephaestus withdrew quickly, the action causing the hunter even more discomfort. He swung the hunter to face him. "You haven't done this before," he said, accusingly.

"I didn't say I had," Iolaus gritted. "I just said I wanted to ... with Herc."

"Well, you should be grateful then. At least one of you will be experienced and I'm damned sure he won't be. Not that he'd agree to do you anyway, he's far too prim and proper."

Iolaus said nothing, though he felt Hephaestus was probably right about Hercules' attitude and, now, he was actually having second thoughts himself. He had not imagined that sex with a male would be so painful. After all, he had friends with male lovers and they seemed to enjoy it.

Hephaestus cut in on his confused thoughts. "Anyway, I haven't finished with you yet. That was over a bit quick. Get back in position," he ordered sternly.

Surprisingly, in spite of his own situation, Iolaus suddenly thought of Aphrodite. "You're not going to get mad with 'Dite too, are you?" the hunter asked. "I swear we didn't do anything."

Hephaestus suspected the question to be a delaying tactic and yet the god recognized, and was surprised by, the sincerity behind the query.

"I would never do anything to hurt 'Dite," he replied, equally sincerely.

In spite of the way the god was treating him, Iolaus could not help but feel some respect for Hephaestus. Unlike most of the gods, he would give an honest answer and you knew exactly what he thought about things. He also had some considerable sympathy for him. It could not be easy being the lover of the Aphrodite. She would drive anyone to distraction.

In spite of that, he could not help liking her and so, to some extent, was relieved that the god was taking out his anger on him rather than her. It boded well for an early reconciliation between the two and that was *very* desirable as far as the hunter was concerned. He had enough problems in his life without having Aphrodite around 'helping' him. He just wished Hephaestus had settled on some other method of punishment.

However, the thought went through Iolaus' mind that the god's comment about experience was a valid one. It would be ridiculous to persuade Hercules to have sex with him if he found it so painful. If the demigod actually agreed, which was very unlikely, to have to ask him to stop in the act would be embarrassing to them both. Further, if he pretended to enjoy it just so as to have a closer relationship with the demigod, and Hercules got a taste for the activity, he would be condemning himself to a life of pretence and pain. 'No, I can't do that,' he thought. 'I need to see if things improve. If they don't I guess I'll just have to abandon the idea of trying to get Hercules to as my lover.'

"Can I ask you something?" he ventured.

"What?"

"Does it always ... hurt like that?"

"Are you starting to have second thoughts about Hercules?" the god asked perceptively. Hephaestus had been watching the display of emotions on the hunter's expressive face when he had thought about his future relationship with Hercules and, no fool, had correctly divined the hunter's train of thought.

The mop of tangled golden curls nodded ruefully.

Hephaestus felt a twinge of guilt. He was not one of the gods who got a kick out of tormenting mortals and was all too well aware that he had probably been rather unfair on Iolaus. Although he would never have said so to anyone apart from her, he *did* know Aphrodite was often the initiator of her little 'adventures' and that it would be difficult, not to say dangerous, for a mortal to spurn the advances of a goddess.

"Of course not! Don't you mortals know anything? You were far too tense and I was ... I guess I was a bit rougher than I had to be, but ... Well, anyway, you need to relax more. We had better have another bout."

Iolaus gulped. He could see the wisdom in that, but he was scared.

"Actually it must be time for you to do some of the work," Hephaestus mused.

Iolaus stared incredulously at him. "D-Do you mean you w-want me to fuck you?" he finally ventured.

"Don't be ridiculous, Iolaus." He freed the blond's wrists and then flung himself onto his back on a table, stroking his erection as he did so. "Okay, I'm ready, get on," he ordered.

Iolaus stared at him in some trepidation. He was already sore and the cock looked frighteningly large.

"Hurry up!"

Iolaus knew he had no real choice. The god could do anything he chose and there was no way the hunter could stop him. "Is there ... Is there any lubrication left," he inquired resignedly.

"In the jar on the table."

Reluctantly, Iolaus limped across to the table, collected the jar and returned to the bed. Then he proceeded to liberally coat the god's organ, working as slowly as he could, hoping to put the dreaded moment off as long as possible.

Hephaestus cut in on his thoughts. "I'm tired of waiting! Impale yourself!"

Iolaus clenched his teeth, clambered reluctantly onto the table, straddled Hephaestus and eased himself over the straining cock. "Ow!" he complained.

"It can be enjoyable, Iolaus," Hephaestus said, surprising himself at his solicitude for the annoying little mortal. "Just relax and take it slowly at first."

Iolaus followed the instruction and, after the initial pain of penetration, he found it was not so bad because he had some control over the situation.

As he began to move tentatively up and down Hephaestus' straining shaft, the god reached out a surprisingly gentle hand and began to fondle Iolaus' penis and balls.

Iolaus shuddered at the touch and started to pull away. The god moved his hands to the hunter's hips and drew him slowly down again, releasing him when he felt Iolaus start to tense. Gradually, they established a rhythm that, although not pleasant, was not too uncomfortable for the hunter. However, he reflected miserably, it did not bode well for any future sexual relationship with the demigod.

"Push down a bit harder, Iolaus," the god whispered encouragingly.

Although he feared that this would increase the pain, the blond complied, as recalling the speed of the god's previous climax, he decided to try to bring him off as quickly as possible, so the whole painful experience would be over sooner.

With that thought in mind, he pulled away and then pushed down hard sheathing the god completely within him. Hephaestus was surprised by the response to his suggestion, but nowhere near as surprised as Iolaus was himself. An intense wave of pleasurable pain washed over the hunter, threatening to drown him, as the god's penis made contact with his prostate and he could not suppress a scream.

Through a swirling mist of confused sensations, he heard Hephaestus laugh. "There's a new experience for you, Blondie! Try it again."

Iolaus wanted to. How he wanted to! However, still shaking, with his head spinning and feeling near collapse, he didn't know how he was going to. "Please ... Please can't you ..."

"You want me to take over?"

"Yes!"

Moving carefully, the god rolled over so Iolaus was on his back and then began to drive in hard, while clutching Iolaus' hips to pin him firmly in place. Iolaus was screaming his head off in ecstasy, begging the god to stop, shouting that he could not stand it and simultaneously pleading with him to thrust harder and faster.

Finally, both climaxed together, The god collapsed onto the hunter and both lay there breathing raggedly.

Finally, Iolaus returned to himself, still hardly able to credit what had just happened. The god's weight was crushing. Somehow, Iolaus gingerly extricated himself and climbed awkwardly off the bed.
 
"Wow, Hephie, I didn't know you had it in you or perhaps I should say in Sweetcheeks," Aphrodite exclaimed, her voice reflecting both excitement and pleasure.

"'Dite! How long have you been watching? I didn't expect you back so soon," Hephaetus said, hurriedly climbing off the bed and looking at her with some trepidation.

"Really? And here I was thinking you'd planned this lovely surprise for me as a way of apologizing for your little snit."

You don't mind?"

"Mind? Of course not! Now you've realized what a babe Sweetcheeks is we can have lots of fun with him."

 "No!" Iolaus cried in despair.

"What do you mean, Curly?" Aphrodite asked in bemusement.

"Please, 'Dite, I don't want ... " he started, trailing off as he recalled how easily she could become offended by apparent rejection.

"What?"

"What Blondie's trying to say is that he is in love with Hercules, or so he claims," Hephaestus supplied.

"Yeah, sure I know that, but what's that got to do with anything?"

"You know?" the men chorused in amazement.

"Hey, I *am* the Goddess of Love. It's my job to know these things."

"You mean Iolaus has been telling the truth?" He had, of course, already decided that and yet still found it hard to credit that anyone could prefer a demigod to Aphrodite.

"Yeah, sure. He does that. Silly habit," she added dismissively.

A thought occurred to Iolaus, "'Dite, if you know I love Herc, do you know if he could ever ... No, I s'pose he couldn't."

"Love you?"

"Yeah. I-I guess it was a silly question, wasn't it?"

"It was rather."

Iolaus looked even more crestfallen. "Oh," was all he could manage.

"Don't look so down. Course he loves you, Sweetcheeks. You *know* that."

"I mean *really* loves me not ... not just as ... as a friend."

"Dunno. It's harder to read another god or demigod anyway and big bro' is so moral he might never admit it even to himself. He's probably never given the idea a thought. Would you like me to get Cupid to zap him with an arrow?"

"Yes! I mean no! No, it wouldn't be ... wouldn't be right."

"You've been spending too much time with him, Curly. Moral scruples don't become you. One little arrow and ..."

"No, please don't tempt me, 'Dite, I can't ... I don't ..."

"Anyway, you don't need him, Iolaus. Hephie and I can look after you. We'll have a great time." As she spoke, she moved forward and took hold of the ends of the feather boa, drawing him against her.

"Please, 'Dite, don't! Please send me back to him."

"You are getting like him, Curly. All right, I suppose I could. I'd love to watch you two together if it works out." She ran the tip of her tongue across her lips at the thought. "I guess I'd better find you something to wear, though I must say I prefer you as you are." Her hand snaked its way around to squeeze a buttock.

Iolaus shuddered. He did not know how Hephaestus might react to this intimacy and feared to meet his eyes.

Aphrodite smiled at his discomfiture. She stepped back and raised a hand and Iolaus found himself clad in a toga of silver mesh. "There!" she exclaimed, smiling proudly at her handiwork. "Doesn't he look pretty, Hephie? Gold and silver go so well together." She ran a possessive hand through his tangled curls. "Shall we have the fun of taking it off him before he goes?"

Panicking, Iolaus tried to back away and ended up pinned against the forge. He glanced at Hephaestus, but too his relief could see only amusement in his eyes.

In truth, the God of Fire was so grateful that Aphrodite was not mad at him, she could have done almost anything to Iolaus and he would have accepted it. Anyway, after his behaviour he felt he was in no position to judge her.

Aphrodite moved forward and removed the boa from around Iolaus' neck. "It doesn't really go with your new gear, Curly," she announced. Then her manner softened as she looked at the marks on his throat. "We've given you a bit of a rough time between us, haven't we? I guess I'd better do something about that too."

Iolaus felt an odd sensation wash over him and realized that his aches and pains were gone. Then the room spun again.

He materialized on the beach.

The bright moonlight revealed Hercules kneeling on the beach, clutching something to his chest.

"Herc!" Iolaus cried, his heart doing its familiar leap at the sight of his beloved friend.

Hercules looked up. He froze as he saw the silver vision, shining before him with a preternatural light and thus confirming his worst fears. His mouth worked, but no sound emerged. Finally, he managed an agonized whisper, "Iolaus?"

Surprised at the reaction, Iolaus stopped in his tracks. "Wh-What's wrong, Herc?" he asked.

"Iolaus?" the voice was plaintive.

Concerned, Iolaus hastened forward and put his hands gently on Hercules' shoulders. "Herc, are you okay?"

The demigod shuddered at the touch and started to pull away, but Iolaus tightened his grip.

Hercules raised anguished eyes and, to his horror, Iolaus realized his friend's cheeks were streaked with tears. "Hercules, please tell me what's the matter," he implored.

There was no reply. Hercules just continued to stare incredulously at the hunter.

The item he had been clutching dropped from nerveless fingers and a flash of purple identified it. "You've got my vest. Great! I was scared it might be lost," Iolaus said, in a desperate attempt at normality.

As he spoke, he released his hold on the demigod and started to pull the toga off.

Hercules watched transfixed as the garment shimmered to the ground, to pool at Iolaus' feet and reveal the hunter's lissome ivory body.

"Gods, I'm glad to get rid of that," Iolaus babbled. "You know how I hate togas. I hope you found my trousers and boots too."

He started to reach for the vest, but was nearly knocked over onto his back as the demigod flung his arms around him with a joyous cry, "Iolaus!"

"Huh?" the hunter gasped in confusion as strong arms tightened around his waist in a crushing grip. "H-Herc? L-Let go! Please! You're squashing me. Herc, please!"

The grip relaxed slightly. "Iolaus, it *is* you. I thought ... I thought ..." He trailed off with a sob.

"You thought?" Iolaus prompted, relieved to be getting some explanation for the odd behaviour at last.

"I thought you were dead ...again. I-I found your clothes and I couldn't see you anywhere and then I saw your fishing line and breechclout washed up in the shallows. I thought you must have drowned. What happened?"

"Aphrodite happened."

"What?"

"She paid me a visit and Hephaestus took a bit of an exception to that."

"He didn't hurt you, did he? You are all right, my love?"

Now it was Iolaus' turn to stand in stunned surprise. He could not believe the endearment. "Wh-What did you c-call me?" he asked, his heart racing and his mind reproving him for being so besotted that he was starting to imagine things.

Hercules lowered his head and muttered, "My love." Then he looked up, shamefaced, and said, "I'm sorry, Iolaus. I know you will be shocked, but I've been kneeling here for hours cursing my cowardice in never telling you how much I love you. So now you know. I'm sorry."

"S-Sorry? Herc, th-there's n-no need to be sorry," Iolaus managed. He still could hardly credit what he was hearing.

"*You* don't mind?"

"Mind? Herc, if you only knew how much I've longed to hear you say those words, but never dared hope that you would."

 In one swift motion the demigod's hands slid down to cup Iolaus' buttocks and he lurched to his feet. Hercules held his hunter effortlessly his arms and cradled him to his heart. He lowered his head and sought Iolaus' honeyed kisses.

"I want you so much," he whispered, "but I don't ... I'm not exactly sure ..."

"What to do?"

Blushing, the demigod nodded.

"Lucky one of us does," the hunter announced confidently, wriggling out of Hercules' grip and dropping lightly to the ground. He whispered a silent prayer of thanks to the God of Fire and then gave Hercules a devastating smile that made the demigod's heart thud against his ribs. "C'mon, Herc," he urged, as he took the demigod's hand and led him towards the shell, so kindly left by Aphrodite for just this purpose, "I can't wait any longer."

THE END

E-mail the author c/o Nephele at nephele@hotmail.com