Unknown Heritage

[Demeter]

He'd been driving since the first model T ford had rolled off the lines and then when the Italian's started producing their own motorized vechiles, He'd leaped at the chance. Oh, he had American, German, and Japanese models all stock in his garages, along with a couple dozen bikes, but his heart and soul were for the Italian cars. The spyder was his favorite.

He'd taken the back roads to Darius' house, opening up the throttle and letting the car roar down the blacktop. He pulled up the driveway...which was really a small bridge to the multi-level mansion that dominated it's own island. Having his own residence in Cedar Valley, Carma eased the car up to the front door.

He turned to look at Rune. He peered at the man from over the top of his custom made sunglasses. "Well, get out the same way you got in." he said while pocketing his keys and getting out himself. He led the way up the front door and pulled open the dark wood door. He ushered Rune in. "They are more then likely in the kitchen. So long as Darius isn't trying to cook, we should be fine. I know this must come as a shock but Darius tends to arrange things that turn out quite well. You know of Lord Marrus' oldest son, Rhystic and his wife, Lady Dream. You may not have put it together yet but your Lady Dream is Darius' youngest daughter. Rhystic and Dream were spitting made at first and now look them, expecting a child."

Carma pushed open the door and shoved Rune in. Trail by fire, he always said, plus he still had to sweep the grounds. The earth guards were known to be lacking.

In the kitchen, Genesis glanced away from the stove and smiled. "One more for dinner then." she said as she plopped a patty of ground beef onto a indoor grill. "I hope you don't mind Hamburgers, Darius is having sympathy cravings."

Darius sat on the counter, bare-footed while wearing a pair of jeans with holes at the knees. He wore a shirt that said "I'm a Custos Lord. Bow down to me." He waved at Rune. "Finally see that Carma got you here. Probably annoyed him to no end. Now, after dinner, we'll get down to business. Sorry about springing that whole law about heirs on you but I couldn't wait."

[Maira]

He was speechless when Carma finally pulled the car up and stopped it. When the older Custos instructed him to get out they way he'd gotten in, it took Rune a moment to find the handle that would release the door and let him out. Once he climbed out of the car, Rune followed Carma to the front door rather warily. He couldn't help but look around the place to make sure nobody was watching them. After all, he was dressed in his bloody armor still and that likely wouldn't look quite normal to humans...

At Carma's comments about his father, Rune couldn't help snicker. He was quickly learning that Darius DeLuge was not your normal Custos Lord. Once they were inside, Rune took a good look around and was once again baffled by all the family photos. What Custos lord honestly was such a softy for family?

Before he knew it, Rune was being shoved through a doorway and Carma was -not- behind him. He glowered at the door as it shut behind him for a moment then turned his attention back to the people he had seen upon being shoved. Darius and his wife Genesis were both looking at him. He heard the words that Genesis said, even managed to nod in reply, but in all honestly all his attention was focussed on Darius.

Rune wanted desperately to ask what the hell was wrong with Darius and tell him he looked like a bum but as a guest he knew it wasn't his place. Plus, there was the whole fact that he had been summoned by the bum and he was still annoyed with him. At Darius' words, Rune crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow before asking. "And what was so important that I didn't even have time to change out of my armor?"

[Demeter]

Faith, with two-year-old Bram, shoved opened the door between hallway to kitchen with one hip. "Granddad, can you watch the baby? Tempest is back and wants to go spend the night out on the town." She completely bypassed the man in blood-stained armor and handed Bram off to his great-grandfather. She turned and jumped at the sight of Rune. "People are always sneaking up on me. You must be Rune, Dion told me about you. I'm Faith."

She turned back to look at Darius. "Now, he has a bit of a cold but I've written down everything you have to do, just look in his diaper bag. I left it by the front door. On second thought, maybe you should let Genesis do it. Now, I'll be back sometime tomorrow for him." She turned, patted Rune's shoulder said "Nice to meet you" and breezed out of the doorway on her way to her date with her husband.

Darius grinned down at his two-year-old grandson, the product of a seeminly fairy tale, whirl-wind relationship. He looked up at Rune. "This is Bram. He's two." Once Genesis dished up the dinner and they'd eaten, Darius hurried Rune up to his study. Bram had been handed off to Genesis, who was more then willing to play with the baby.

Darius sat behind his desk and settled a pair of small reading glasses on his nose. "Now, I know this may come as a shock, but I'd like you to be my heir. The stipulations of Custos Lordship state that any offical heir must be full Custos. The only two full Custos children I have are Astra and Bella and neither of them want to be my heir. That leaves you. What do you say, Rune, would you like to be my heir?"



Later that night, once the house was asleep, Carmine crept back into the house. He'd spent the rest of the day checking up on the security of the estate. He glanced around the hallway in the guest level, certian of which room Genesis had stashed Rune in. Using the set of keys he had for the house, he opened the door and slinked in. He crossed over to the bed and kneeled on the edge of the mattress, by Rune's feet. He'd already removed any sort of clothing or extra bits from his outfit. It just wouldn't do to wake Rune up before he wanted the man to wake up.

He crawled up the length of Rune's body. He squared his arms around Rune's head and lowered himself down to his elbows. He pressed a kiss to Rune's mouth and whispered, "Wake up, sleepy man." He lowered his entire body down and kissed him again.

[Maira]

Rune feeling a bit overwhelmed already and to suddenly have another person in the kitchen, with a toddler in her arms didn't help at all. Curse Carma for leaving him alone with Darius the bum, and Genesis. He didn't really know either of them. After the newcomer handed over her son to Darius, she turned around and jumped at seeing him, the corner of Rune's mouth turned up in a smile. She went on to introduce herself, patted his shoulder and left the kitchen. He was a bit surprised to hear that Dion had spoken of him to anybody as he hadn't even had much interaction with his older sister.

Before he sat down to eat with his father and step-mother, Rune unbuckled his armor and set it off to one side of the kitchen and he washed his face and hands in the kitchen sink. Even as the battle-hardened warrior he was, Rune refused to eat dinner that his stepmother cooked all bloody and dirty.

Once he was clean, he joined Genesis, Darius, and little Bram. It was a pleasant enough meal. He realized just how much he enjoyed Genesis' company. Darius he was still unsure about. After all, it was his fault he'd been dragged out of the middle of a battle. And Bram, one of his nephews of some sort, he was a typical toddler as far as Rune could tell. He wasn't overly fond of children normally but even he couldn't resist the boy's chubby little cheeks when he smiled and flung food at him.

After dinner Darius directed him to his study, much like the one in hell, and went into the whole needing him for an heir thing. Rune agreed grudgingly on the terms that he could keep everything he'd inheritted when Shadis had died. Despite not being that man's blood he had been named his heir and from all the abuse he thought he at least somewhat deserved the house and the lands. They were nothing extravagant but they were his. Darius had agreed and they had shaken hands on it. Then he'd been dismissed to his guest quarters.

He'd swung back by the kitchen to gather up his armor but it wasn't there anymore. He'd asked a few people he'd spotted in the hallways what might have happened to it and finally somebody informed him that likely the armor had been gathered up and taken off to be cleaned. He was also informed that if he put his clothes outside his door those would be taken away to be cleaned as well.

He'd finally found the room that he'd been assigned for his visit and made himself at home. He found a couple books that were interesting, grabbed one and tossed it on the bed. Then he stripped, put his clothes outside the room, and went to grab a shower. The shower was quick and functional, nothing more. Once he was clean, he dried off and went and climbed in bed with the book he'd chosen.

The next thing he knew, Rune was being kissed and he had to fight to wake up. It took him a moment to remember where he was and only that realization kept him from panicking at the weight of a body on top of him. Not to mention the familiar feel of that particular body, the heat, the smell. The sound of Carma's voice was luring him into alertness as was his presence in general. He reached up and slid his arms around the other man's waist and pulled him closer. "I'm awake," he said just before raising his head off the pillow to kiss the other man.

[Demeter]

Carma chuckled softly, allowing his body to relax into Rune's grip. After kissing the rather delectable man beneath him for some period of time, Carma rolled off and lay next to Rune's warm body. At night, when Darius was soundly asleep, Carma's time was his own. And when Carma functioned on his own time, he could play the lover rather then the second in command.

He glanced over at Rune. "Do I get to stay here, with you, or do I get sent to my own lonely bed?" He had a small apartment of rooms over the garage here but he also owned his own home a few streets over. Both beds in both homes would be cold and lonely. "I really am sorry about this afternoon. I do as my master commands."

His master commanded a lot and Carma, though he sometimes loathed Darius' issues, was happy enough to carry out those orders. He got to swing Talos around and glare at people; something he oh-so-enjoyed. Right now though, he was thinking of what he could do for a different master. Rune was the first out of many lovers that actually made Carma want more. He'd slept with many people repeatedly, enjoying their favors but he wanted more of Rune.

Carma walked his fingers up Rune's chest. "Are you going to let me stay, Rune?"

[Maira]

When Carma let his body relax on top of his own, Rune had to fight not to moan. He, and apparently his body, had missed the older Custos more than he'd been willing to admit. After indulging in a nice long kiss, Carma rolled off of Rune and the loss of the other man's weight made Rune pout slightly.

The question Carma asked after rolling off of him made Rune's pout dissappear and it was replaced immediately with a wicked little smirk. He rolled over onto his side to face the other man, shivered when Carma's fingers walked up his chest, and then answered, "If you left right now Carma I'd follow you anyway so you may as well stay." Then with a small laugh he added, "After all, me walking around the house naked because my clothes are being washed would not be such a good thing."

[Demeter]

Carma woke next to Rune, tangled around the man. He groaned and rolled onto his back. After waking the younger Custos up the night before, he'd enjoyed the favors the man possessed. And now, he had to wake up. Carma turned his head to look at Rune. The white-haired Custos was still sleeping soundly.

Carma rolled out of the bed, snagged up his pants, and left the room. He'd leave the Custos to sleep longer. He traveled to his apartment over the garage, dumped his clothing, pants included, on the living room floor. He walked, naked, to the bathroom and started up the shower. He'd wash up and then get started on the day's business. Darius had mortal dealings along side his duties as a Custos Lord. He, Carma, was often Darius' face and enforcer during this dealings.

Once the water was warm enough, Carma stepped in. He languished in the water for a while, glorying in the large water heater he had to himself. After washing, Carma dried off and dressed for the day in a tailored Armaini suit. The only bright spash of color was his red tie. He placed a 9mm glock in a shoulder harness, tied back his hair and headed for Darius' office. While on Earth, where stupid mortals thought Darius was harmable, his job was ever more important.

[Maira]

He hadn't slept so soundly since he had left Darius's House. Aside from all the news he'd had to let soak in, and the battle he'd been in before Carma had come to fetch him, he had just missed Carma. He didn't want to miss Carma as that meant he was getting attached, but the fact of the matter was that he had.

As he slowly came awake, Rune reached out to the vacant side of the bed and just sighed. It was still slightly warm but it was cool enough that Rune could tell Carma had left more than just a little while ago. Looking around for a clock to see what time it was, Rune groaned when he finally found it. 11:17am. Shit, he had completely overslept!

Rolling out of bed, Rune was startled to see the closet door in the room open and full of clothes. He could have sworn it was empty the night before... Curious, he walked over and pulled out a few different items and held them up against him. They all seemed to be his size so he took out some that weren't too casual but not too formal either as he had no idea what his father had planned for him that day.

After finding his ensuite bathroom, Rune had showered and dressed quickly. He was now wandering around his father's earthly home and found it just as intriguing as the one he had in Hell. It held those same soft, family, touches that just didn't befit a Custos Lord and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't picture Lord Darius as a family man. It was so....wrong.

[Demeter]

Carma sighed as he grabbed a hold of a handful of shirt and dragged an enraged business man out of Darius' home office. He pulled the man along, ignoring his threats of suing for bodily harm. As if Darius didn't have an entire law firm waiting at his beck and call. Carma opened the front door and tossed the man out. "Darius will call you in three days. Be ready to accept his offer otherwise your business will end up bankrupt. You should consider yourself lucky that he's even interested in investing."

Carma shut the door and leaned back against it. In hell, at the very least, the Custoss knew who they were dealing with and respected what the man could do to them. Here, though, where most people assume Darius to be just another Mortal with a gift for making money, people thought they could control the man.

Carma spotted Rune staring up at the giant painting of Darius' first wife. Genesis allowed the painting, knowing that it was both for Darius and his three oldest girls. Not many pictures of Chantal had survived the year after her death. He walked up behind Rune. "Darius' first wife, Chantal. His three oldest girls are her daughters. She died years ago, when Jade was two, from a deranged guard. We all remember her fondly."

[Maira]

The woman in the painting looked quite a bit like the two women he'd met upon his first visit to Darius's house and he had already figured that she was either sister to the older of the two, Dion, or her mother. When he heard Carma's footsteps behind him, and even in their short aquaintance he had gotten quite familiar with Carma's footsteps, he turned and looked over his shoulder to smile at the man before turning his attention back to the painting.

When Carma explained that it was indeed who he'd thought it was Rune just nodded. "She and Genesis seem to have a similar warmth about them even if they look nothing alike. Its kind of Genesis not to begrudge Darius of his first wife. From the bit I've heard about my mother's time with Darius, I'm sure she wanted to burn the paintings of Chantal. Just thinking of Ellen made Rune's skin crawl and he couldn't help but roll his shoulders to get the feeling to go away.

To distract himself from the unpleasantness that was his mother, Rune turned back to Carma and asked, "So what is expected of me today? Does my father have any plans for me or am I just going to be left to my own devices?" In all honesty, he'd rather have a list of things to do during the day and then have the evening to relax and get to know the rest of the family. He wasn't exactly sure how many people were at Darius's house on Earth on a regular basis but he knew he'd have to meet his family eventually.

[Demeter]

Carma smirked. "Oh, Ellen tried to have the painting removed several times. It's one of the few things that Darius refused her to the pointing of swearing to beat her bloody even if she dared to touch it. Darius has only loved three women. Chantal, Constance, that would be Demeter's mother, and Genesis."

When Rune asked about his day, Carma grinned. "Darius requested that you be allowed to wander the house today, along with it's private island, in order to get to know the land. Whenever the family gathers, they gather here as most of them spend the majority of their time on Earth. He thinks you should have the advantange of, at the very least, knowing the area before the crowd descends. Tomorrow the work begins. Today he's playing with the mortals. Something he loves doing."

Carma rolled his eyes. "He has plenty of business, he likes it, and the mortals don't know who he is. Which is why he needs me. The mortals like to bring their own muscle along and think that Darius could be harmed. Here, I actually act like a bodyguard instead of guarding the fifth layer from Darius' mistakes."

He leaned forward, head resting on Rune's shoulder. "We should be done creating havoc in the mortal world in a few hours." He kissed Rune's cheek before walking away. "I'll be able to escort you around later, if you'd like," he called over his shoulder.

[Maira]

Why had his father not given him anything productive to do? To be told that all that was expected of him was for him to explore the island and house just left him staring. What?! He nearly groaned in dissappointment when Carma kissed his cheek and walked away. The only thing that stopped him from begging Carma to let him come along was the promise of an escort later if he wanted it. Now, he probably didn't -need- an escort around the property but if it meant he got to spend more time with older Custos, who was he to complain?

*****

By the time Carma finally emerged from the office he was cloistered in with Darius and the humans, Rune was ready and waiting outside the door. He waited until all the humans had left and only moved from his spot holding up the wall when he heard familiar footsteps coming out of the office. He quickly matched his stride to Carma's and leaned in to ask, "So, care to save me from my complete and utter boredom now?"

[Demeter]

Carma was rolling his neck from side to side, muttering about mortals and how they took forever to do anything. He glanced at Rune when the Custos appeared by his side. "Of course I don't mind saving you. Have you even left the house yet?"

When Rune replied in the negative, Carma grabbed his hand and dragged him through the house to the kitchen and out the backdoor. In short order the duo was out on the back lawn. "Backyard," he said and then introduced Rune to the gardens, the tennis court, the outdoor pool and hottub, and the access to the small stretch of beach.

Carma sat down on the beach and went about the process of unlacing his shoes. He flipped off the casual dress shoes and socks before sinking his feet into the sand. He groaned and flopped backwards. "Tomorrow, you get to sign documents that name you as Darius offical heir, get pricked by Bella for the offical DNA tests and so on. And then you get to listen to Darius as he expounds on the greatness of gods know what. Probably the glory of the realm or something like that. If you haven't noticed, he's a bit odd."

Carma beckoned Rune to sit next to him. "And then the real work starts. You get to learn how to run a layer of hell. You'll learn the big stuff from him while you'll learn all the little, important details from me. But, for now, there is nothing to do except lay on the beach and think of nothing. Genesis and Darius are going somewhere else for dinner. Dion's house, I think, where there is no need for a bodyguard. Only the insane, mortal or Custos, will even think about trying to get into that house and Bella is going with them and she's bringing a whole case of various poisons along so there is no need to worry about transport."

Carma looked over at Rune and grinned. "Just you and me tonight, boy-o. Whatcha wanna do?"

[Maira]

The tour of the grounds was rather painless. Granted, he only got to see part of it before Carma led him down onto the stretch of private beach the island boasted. Like most everything else on Earth, Rune had never really seen or experienced the beach so when Carma flopped down onto the ground and took off his shoes and socks, Rune just watched him curiously.

He couldn't quite understand just why Carma seemed to enjoy sinking his feet into the sand, but the laying down part looked comfortable enough so he sat down next to the older Custos and listened as Carma rambled on. When Carma finally looked over at him and asked what he wanted to do with their family-free evening, suddenly all sorts of activities popped into his mind. Of course none of them had anything to do with his father and learning to run the fifth layer of Hell. Instead they had purely to do with the blue eyed Custos who was watching him so intently.

A wicked gleam came into his eyes only moments before he was straddling Carma. He then quickly grabbed Carma's wrists and pressed them into the sand above his head. Rune knew that if Carma truly wanted to get out of this hold it'd be easy for him, but as he'd not put up any struggle, Rune was content to pin him to the beach.

In the position he was in, Rune's face was a short distance from Carma's and the grin that turned up the corners of his mouth was very suggestive as he finally answered Carma's question, "I think we can find plenty to do, lover." Rune's voice was a little rough around the edges as his own body reacted to the position he'd put himself in, and before he could stop himself he was leaning down to kiss Carma. Only, at the last minute, he reached for the man's lower lip with his teeth instead and bit down rather hard. Not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to get a point across that he hadn't known he needed, or wanted, to get across: I missed you.

[Demeter]

Carma smirked. Such a lovely man, Rune. Really, quiet pretty and lovely and dominating. He was content to let Rune do anything he wanted to him. "Well, have to wait till tomorrow, Lover, before we spend our evening christening every part of this house. Wouldn't do to have Darius walk in on us."

Carma nipped back, straining upwards but not trying to pry himself loose from Rune's grip. He quite liked the position he was currently in. "Probably give him a heart attack if he caught us on that desk of his. And yes, we will be using the desk in place of a bed. I have the most lovely fantasies about that desk."

[Maira]

The mild dissappointment that flitted through Rune at Carma's instructions that they'd have to wait another day before they could have their way in the house dissappeared quickly as Rune remembered there was a stable on the island. Maybe the house was off limits, but the stable surely wasn't.

When the older Custos nipped at his own lip, Rune couldn't help but shiver with pleasure. His grip tightened on Carma's wrists and he couldn't help but press himself even closer. He was about to kiss the man beneath him silly when he started talking again and Rune felt a low growl starting to surface until he heard exactly what Carma was saying. Instead of growling, he started laughing and answered with a snicker, "And wouldn't Darius just love to find out that we fulfilled whatever fantasies you have about that desk!"

By now, Rune was laughing so hard he had to roll off of Carma so he could breathe properly. He may have had to let go of Carma's wrists when he rolled off the man, but he twined the fingers of his right hand with those of Carma's left so that there was still some contact between them as he tried to get the laughing under control and make his sides stop hurting.

[Demeter]

Carma, smiling softly, watched as Rune laughed himself silly. "You'd have some damn fine fantasies too if you'd spent 18 tortourous hours standing standing behind that desk. My favorite is the one where I'm sprawled, naked, across the length of it while someone has their way with me."

He grinned at Rune. "They'll be leaving soon. I figure we can start the indoor tour on the bottom floor and work our up. It'll take more then one night. Fifty rooms or so. Are you up for it?"

"I don't even want to know, Do I?"

Carma tilted his head back until he could see Bella standing on the cliff. "No, you don't. Leave then?"

She nodded. "yeah. he wants to go see his grandbabies. " She looked between the two men. "stay out of my basement."

Carma chuckled. "yes, mother," he yelled as she turned and walked away. He sat up and slowly put on his socks and shoes. When he heard a car engine roar to life, Carma scambled to his feet and yanked Rune to his. Still holding Rune's hand, Carma ran for the kitchen door.

Once in the room, he boosted himself up onto a counter. "I know that you've already seen the kitchen but I'm sure you'd like a better look."

[Maira]

Getting himself under control was not made any easier when Carma kept talking about his fantasies involving Darius's desk. Then the talk about him being up for the tour of 50 rooms, and he was sure it wouldn't just be a tour. If Rune hadn't been feeling frisky before, he sure was now.

The only thing that slightly disrupted his mood was the sudden appearance of one of his older sisters on the cliff above them. He looked up at her and was very glad that she hadn't come upon them earlier when he'd had Carma pinned to the sand. That would have been just a little awkward...

When she finally left, and and Carma pulled his hand away to put his socks and shoes back on, Rune sat up and waited patiently. When he was suddenly yanked to his feet at the sound of Darius's car being started and pulling away, he couldn't help but squeek a bit. Then when he got dragged back across the grounds to the house he was smiling the whole way. At least he was fairly certain he wasn't the only one who had missed their time together.

Being dragged through the lower story of the house, and finally into the kitchen, Rune just smirked. So, the kitchen would be first on their "tour" huh? Then Carma boosted himself up onto the counter and Rune's smirk grew slightly wicked. "A better look sounds wonderful to me," he said in a hoarse whisper as he closed the short distance between them, slipped between the older Custos's knees and reached up to pull Carma down for a kiss.

[Demeter]

Carma grinned and wrapped his hands in Rune's hair. He allowed himself to be pulled down and wrapped his legs around the younger Custos's waist. While they kissed, Carma wrestled with the buttons on Rune's shirt.

***

They managed to complete a circuit of the first floor before collapsing onto the living room floor. Carma wasn't quite sure where his clothing was. He was pretty sure he should find it before the family got him. Granted he could care less if Darius ran across his boxers in the dining room but he'd be mortally embrassed if it was Genesis who fished them off the light fixture...

Atleast, that is where he believed Rune tossed his boxers. Carma rolled his left to the left and gave a tired yet satisfied smirk "So, did you enjoy your tour of the downstairs?"

[Maira]

If his father had security cameras set up in his home, the poor man would be in for quite the shocking view of his bodyguard and his son. After their hot and steamy start in the kitchen the pair of Custoss had christened, Rune was sure, every room on the first floor. They were now collapsed in the middle of the livingroom floor, naked, and panting. And, at least on Rune's part, totally exhausted!

When his lover, sprawled out to the right of him, rolled over and asked him a question, it took a few moments for the words to make sense to Rune. Opening his eyes, which he hadn't realized were closed, he turned and looked at Carma and answered softly, "The tour was wonderful, but I'm sure I won't remember where a damn thing is tomorrow since I was.... rather pre-occupied for most of it." This last bit brought a small answering smirk to his lips.

Then, because he really was a bit curious, and slightly worried, he asked, "So, umm, does Darius have this place wired with cameras? If he does, I seriously think we should go filch the footage before they all get home." Gods forbid that one of the visiting grandkids, his neices and nephews (as they were all un-holy terrors) stumbled upon such footage and watched it. Or took it to grandpa Darius and asked what it was...