Cas flushed at the compliment and hid his red face in Zachary's chest, unable to keep himself from smiling. "Y-You really think so, Zachary?" He asked softly.
"I don't hurt myself the way that Cas does… I don't care about myself. Cas is my top priority." Nix turned his ears back and curled his tail around himself.
"I really do. You've never done this before, and you were so quick about figuring it out. You've got real skip for things like this, I can tell." Zachary patted Cas's back, holding him gently.
"You're smart, Cas."
"You don't hurt yourself the same way, yes, but not caring about yourself is just as bad. You have to take care of yourself too take care of others. If Cas sees what you put yourself through for him, he'll be so guilty, and he'll end up hurting himself too. Nix…" Halm let out a soft breath, holding Nix close and putting his hand on Nix's head.
"Nix, it hurts me to see you like this. To see what you put yourself through."
Cas grinned more brightly, keeping his face hidden so Zachary couldn't see how excited he was. "I-It's nothing, really… they're only fifty pieces, anyway."
Nix rubbed at his teary eyes weakly, unable to make eye contact with Halm. "Well, what am I supposed to do about it? Cas is always going to be more important to me than my own wellbeing. It's my job to protect him."
Zachary smiled, leaning his head on Cas's.
"That's larger than most people start out with," Zachary said gently. "You've done so very, very well. And you do them much faster than even I thought you would." He smiled into Cas's hair, nuzzling him a little.
"I love you, Cas."
"You can still protect him," Halm said gently. "But… Let me protect you. Tell me whenever you feel bad, or upset, or just need someone to be there for you like you are for Cas. Can you do that?"
Cas flushed harder and returned the nuzzles, pulling himself into Zachary's lap to be closer to him. "T-Thanks, Zachary… I'm glad you think so. I love you too."
Nix hesitated before nodding. "Okay… why do you want to help me, though? What have I done to deserve it?" He asked.
Zachary helped Cas into his lap, smiling. He… He wanted to try something. He closed his eyes tight, trying to block out his thoughts. And then, then he ever so hesitantly kissed Cas's head, almost expecting Nix and Halm to come bursting in. But, nothing like that happened. He slowly opened one eye, giving Cas a small smile.
"Because you've helped Cas for so long," Halm said after a moment. "You've been good to him. You should have someone to do the same for you." Halm lightly scratched Nix's head, holding him close.
Cas looked up at Zachary, surprised, but clearly pleased. He hesitated before tugging Zachary down to kiss his cheek, not wanting to kiss him on the lips yet for fear of making him uncomfortable.
Nix leaned into Halm's touch, purring weakly. "I guess so… thanks, Halm."
Zachary was a bit startled, but he gave an uneasy smile. It was getting better the more they did it.
"I love you," he said again softly. He leaned into Cas's lips a little, then turned to kiss Cas's cheek lightly in return. "I love you so much."
"You're welcome," Halm said gently. He held Nix a bit closer, kissing his forehead again.
"I love you too, Zachary." Cas smiled happily and buried his face in Zachary's neck, seeming pleased.
Nix curled up against Halm's chest and yawned, clearly tired from all the stress and crying. He kept his ears flattened back against his head.
Zachary held Cas close, smiling. He had made Cas feel good, and that made him feel good to.
"I love you so much," Zachary continued, "I'd steal the moon if you wanted me to. Of course, he might not be very happy with it." Zachary chuckled a little, blushing blushing a little. "I want you to be happy."
Halm leaned back against the couch, almost cradling Nix. He looked down at the cat, running his back a little.
"Let's get you to bed," he said softly. "You need some rest."
"Is the moon a god?" Cas asked curiously. "Why would he be mad? Can you really steal him?" He looked up at Zachary while he spoke.
"Mmmm… okay…" Nix yawned again. "Your room…?" He asked softly, turning his gaze up to Halm.
"The moon technically is," Zachary confirmed. "And he's not too keen on being in the underworld. He likes warm places. And, I highly doubt I'm strong enough to get him down here by force, but I might be able to trick him. He is one of the Big Nine, after all." Zachary looked down at Cas, figuring he'd have to explain about the system of gods. Not many knew about them, after all.
"Of course," Halm said gently. "Unless you want to go to Cas's room." Halm stood, picking Nix up with him. He let Nix lay in both his arms, rubbing his back a little again.
"Ah… um… alright. Could you tell me more about that? I dunno a whole lot about gods, to be honest…" Cas huddled up against Zachary's chest.
"I think it'll be best for us to go to your room right now…" Nix relaxed in Halm's arms, yawning again as he struggled to stay awake.
"I figured." Zachary thought a moment about how to best describe the gods before finally pulling out some paper and a pencil. He drew nine circles in three groups of three, then put a symbol in each. First, he pointed to a recognizable one, Halm's horns and soul.
"There are nine top gods," Zachary explained. "Halm is one of them, an Underworld god." He then pointed to one in another group, with a Cresent moon symbol.
"This is Marcos, the moon god. He's part of the Heavenly gods."
Halm held Nix gently, carrying him to the bedroom. He smiled softly, patting Nix's back. He laid down with Nix, pulling the blankets up around them to keep Nix warm.
Cas nodded, listening attentively. He stayed quiet so as to not interrupt Zachary. So far, he seemed to be following pretty well.
"Can I wear something else…?" Nix asked softly, opening his eyes to look down at his clothes. "I've been wearing these for a while, and they're not the most comfortable to sleep in…"
(Me, reading Zachary's words about Marcos: gheuxhrbr I know that man)
"There are three types of gods. Heavenly, Earthly, and Underwordly. Halm is the head of the Undwolrd gods. It just means he's the strongest. Astral," Zachary said, pointing to a geometric sun symbol, "is head of the Heavenly gods, and Derlik-" Zachary pointed to two blades crossed- "is head of the Earthly gods."
"Alright, then," Halm said, nodding at Nix's words. "You want to go look at some options now then for you to wear?"
Cas kept nodding, being quiet for a couple more minutes. "Are they nice?" He asked curiously. "I'd like to meet them… I've only ever met Marcos before."
Nix nodded, tugging at his clothes. He didn't really have any idea what was modest for humans, so he just pulled off everything except his boxers. "What do you have?" He asked.
"Astral's an asshole," Zachary said as gently as he could. And Derlik… well, it really depends on how he feels from moment to moment. Marcos is nice, but he's a bit withdrawn nowadays. Though, I think you'd like the other Underworld godesses. Both of them are very nice ladies."
Halm, of course, knew exactly what was modest. He blushed a bit, looking away as he thought.
"Well," he said, keeping from stammering with immense willpower, "I have several hoodies, and some dresses from…" Halm fell quiet a moment. "Some dresses."
Cas nodded again. "Maybe we can meet them sometime, then. You're a minor god, right?" He asked. "What do you rule over?"
"Well, what do you think would be comfortable?" Nix asked. "That's mostly what I'm looking for…" He yawned a bit as he came up to Halm's side, his tail swaying behind him as he walked.
(And yes Derlik can actually be a really nice and caring guy when he wants to)
(He usually just doesn't tho)
"Well…" Zachary said, laughing at himself a bit.
"I don't really rule over anything. Like most minor gods, I'm really just here to take some of the burden off of Halm. I'm… well, a magical fish, to be honest."
"The most comfortable thing..? Honestly, one of the dresses." Halm blushed a little when Nix moved to beside him. Or jeez, he was nearly naked.
(😏)
"Ah, that makes sense… what kinda powers do you have?" Cas asked curiously. "Other than fish things? I guess that doesn't really count as powers…"
"Alright, then. Are any of these even my size…?" Nix asked, rooting through Halm's closet to find something to wear.
"Well," Zachary said, thinking a moment, "I'm able to make any liquid I'm in have different abilities. And I help out with making use of the caverns, with the crystals and such." He wasn't really about to admit he was the one who enchanted the water that had killed Cas. Not yet.
"Um…" Halm blushed a little.
"Any of them should fit," he said. "She… they belonged to a person who was about your size."
Cas nodded a bit. "That makes sense… I'm not a huge fan of water at the moment, though." He hummed thoughtfully to himself.
"Who did they belong to?" Nix asked, grabbing a black and white dress and trying to put it on. "Mind giving me a hand?"
(And yes Derlik can actually be a really nice and caring guy when he wants to)
(He usually just doesn't tho)
(I don't believe you)
(I mean…. we could always do another rp to prove it)
(One with Derlik)
Halm stepped over to help Nix, still blushing a little. He needed Zachary's advice with this…
"An old friend of mine," Halm said.
"I figured." Zachary nodded a little. "But it's not just that. It's anything that's liquid, if I touch it long enough…" Zachary trailed off. "The fuck..?" He whispered quietly. He snorted then, covering his mouth to keep from laughing.
Nix fussed with the dress a bit more, clearly confused by it. "Uh… alright." He fell silent, waiting for Zachary to arrive.
Cas looked up at Zachary's exclamation. "What's so funny?" He asked, confused.
"H-Halm and Nix, they- oh god- Nix is trying to put on a maid outfit, t-to be more comfortable!" Zachary tried to hold his laughter back as he spoke, tearing up a bit with the effort. "And they- they need my help!"
Halm did his best to help Nix, letting out a long breath as he tried to calm down.
"Oh d-dear…"