The headaches always started when Cain was around.
Dee winced through the current spike, playing it off as a cringing laugh because he just didnât fancy himself a charmerâstreetwise, certainlyâbut not a smoothie, strictly speaking. He hadnât said anything yetâpartly because he couldn't prove Cain was the trigger, but mostly because he simply refused to cause the other man an ounce of guilt for his wonderful existence. It wasn't Cain's fault; it was just the residual chaos bleeding through. If anything, Chaos deserved love and sacrifice as much as anyone elseâmaybe more. Yes, he owed Cain the silence, and instead of confessing, he decided to handle it privately. It filled Dee with awe, blinding him with a fierce humility, that a being possessing such raw, devastating power could choose to be so remarkably kind and gentle. Not once, but over and over. For all of time.
âI hate to tell you this, but I canât paint.â The emphasis was meant to imply the version of him that Cain was looking at right now. âI mean, a wall, yeah, in solid colours,â he smirked, âbut I canât⊠paint.â
He glanced behind them at a public clock situated in a shop window, making sure he hadnât lost track of the hour as well as the day. Looking back at Cain, he hoped the other man wouldnât think he was avoiding him just because nudity had been brought up. He never felt threatened by it, despite the fact they hadnât gone to third or fourth base.
âWe could take a class, though, and I could try to capture you. Youâre already my favorite subject, so that wonât require any learning.â He pulled Cain towards him, kissing his forehead, undeterred by the things he didnât understand. âWe should probably go in and pick the remodel paint now, cutie. They might take a while to mix it⊠Things aren't on demand here like they are in the city.â
To think such an important creature would choose to settle down here, of all places. Sure, Dee wouldâve uprooted himself and let Cain whisk him away to Neverland, to be his faithful lost boy, but it was nice that he didnât have to. He liked this place. He liked it even better with Cain there. If human cities were fast, imagine what god-cities must be like, he thought, breathless.
Another whiff of cinnamon on the wind brought him out of his momentary daze, and he saw Cainâs face again from that sweet, upside-down angle he was holding him in. Cinnamon kind of eased the pain, he realised, but so did Cain. It was weird how he could cause both the pain and the pleasure. He pecked the other's lipsâa kiss that said he was just so happy to be alive at the exact same time as the god-man.
