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.
The doctor couldn't believe John's recovery, but the x-rays showed that his broken bones were completely mended. As he sawed off the casts, the physician couldn't help but to commit on the fact that this had to be the shortest recovery time for broken bones ever to occur. John, meanwhile, was only happy to get the casts off of him and was discharged the following day. He had wanted to leave immediately, but the doctor had insisted that he stay overnight for observation to make sure he was truly recovered.
As for the hospital bills, John was able to apply for government assistance since he was unemployed and had no insurance. After that, Henry drove John over to his family's house, which was in the shadow of the temple of Apollo. John had always found the temple itself interesting, what with its resemblance to a building from ancient Greece. The house itself was a large Victorian that was three stories tall. John's room was on the second floor next to the bathroom.
"This was the twins' room before they moved out," Daniel said wistfully.
"You have twin sons?" John asked with interest. "Henry didn't say that some of his brothers were twins."
"Yeah," Daniel said with a smile. "Sam's first gestation. I was pretty shocked when I first reached inside Sam's womb and felt more than one baby in there."
"Do they have partners?" John asked, feeling interested in his new in-laws.
Daniel's face spasmed slightly as his smile faltered. "They're bonded, yes, but it's complicated. Their partner bond... -s are a bit complicated."
John frowned, wondering what the problem was but saw that Daniel was very uncomfortable talking about it so let the matter drop for now. Instead, Daniel helped John put his things away in the dresser, unable to help himself from noting the ragged state of John's clothing. And I thought Sam's clothes when we first met were in bad shape! There was several small holes and separating seams along with fraying around the edges of each garment and the socks all had holes in them.
For a moment, Daniel considered giving the human some of his old clothing, but as John was five inches shorter than the Spartan, the clothing wouldn't fit properly. I guess we'll have to take him out shopping, Daniel thought. Well, he'll be making okay money now and won't have to pay rent or utilities. If we only ask him to help with the food bill and pay for any phone calls he makes, then there shouldn't be a problem.
"Say," he asked, "Are you okay working in the temple? If not, we can find you work somewhere else, you know. We'll understand if you want to look elsewhere for a job."
John shrugged. "It's okay, I guess. I don't mind too much."
"Yeah, but you're not Apolline, so... Say... What religion are you?" Daniel asked.
"I'm not," John answered with a sigh. "I..." He shrugged. "I never really believed in anything. I would've said a few days ago that I was an atheist, but after talking to two gods and being healed by one of them, I don't know what to think or call myself anymore."
"Well don't feel like we're pressuring you into becoming Apolline or Joshusite."
"Joshusite?"
"Well," Daniel said with a smile. "It seems that Lord Apollo's son Joshua is gaining followers of His own back home who are beginning to form a whole religion around Him. They call it being 'Joshusite' after Him, just like being Apolline is the worship of Lord Apollo."
"Oh... Okay. It was nice of Joshua to heal me, but I'm still surprised that people would want to worship Him for it."
"Well, He helps lots of people, not just you. People are grateful for that. He makes them feel really good."
John turned away, looking deeply ashamed and embarrassed as he blushed furiously, which made Daniel feel embarrassed too. "I-I didn't mean it like that!" the Spartan added quickly. "Dammit... Sorry."
"No... It's okay, I guess," John said still looking very embarrassed about it and clearly not wanting to talk about it anymore.
"The temple's a really nice place," Daniel said, changing subjects. "I'm sure you'll like working there."
"I guess," John said, looking nervous about it.
"Don't worry... Walter will give you a full orientation... Or Nathan if Walter is too busy."
"Who are they?"
"Oh... Well, Walter is Secondary Priest under Sam, then Nathan is Third Priest, and Leanne is Fourth Priest. There's about eight priests in all who are in charge of the rest of the temple staff, with Dennis, Walter's partner, as head of PR and the highest non-clergy member of the staff, with Keith, head of security under him. You'll get it all down after a while, so don't worry about memorizing all of it at first. If you have any problems, just go to one of the priests, Dennis or Keith with any concerns you might have."
"Alright," John said.
"Hey there," a voice said from the doorway.
"There you are," Daniel said with interest. "Fred Samson, my fifth son, this is John Williams, Henry's partner."
"About damned time he found his partner," Fred said with interest despite the slightly sleepy quality to his voice. "The way he behaved, we thought he'd rather cut his dick off than be bonded. He lucked out, that's for sure. You're kinda hot," the young Spartan said bluntly, shamelessly cruising the human. "If Henry wasn't your partner, I'd be all over you."
John blushed furiously, then paused, noting that he wasn't trying to deny the praise like he would have a few days ago. Instead, he was both pleased and embarrassed.
"Fred!" Daniel protested with annoyance. "Don't go hitting on your brother's partner! It's rude!"
"What? He -is- hot... Besides, I said I'd only make a go for him if he -wasn't- partnered already. You know... Strap him down and work him over with a cat-o-nine-tails then a fur pelt..." Fred stared off into the distance, daydreaming with a lecherous gleam in his eye.
"Stop that!" Daniel said, looking flustered. "We don't need to know that kind of thing." The parent turned away, looking embarrassed.
"Oh come on Dad Daniel!" Fred protested. "It's just sex!"
"Still..." Daniel replied weakly. "If you want to live in a leather bar, that's your decision, but I don't need to hear every last detail. You're even worse than your other father!"
Fred shrugged. "Dad Sam's got the right idea! It's just sex, Dad Daniel... There's no point getting embarrassed about it." He turned back to John with a look of curiosity. "You and Henry fucking yet?"
"FRED!!!" Daniel shouted in outrage.
"Hey," he said calmly. "Inquiring minds want to know."
"Out! Right now! GO!" Daniel shouted, furious with his son's callousness.
"Fine!" the young man said in exasperation. "Catch you later, John," the young man said with a nonchalant wave as he left.
"You're lucky I don't ground you for that!" Daniel called out down the hallway, looking infuriated. "What is wrong with that boy?" he muttered, shaking his head as he turned back to his guest.
"You'd actually ground him?" John asked as he recovered. "I mean he's in his twenties!"
"No he's not," Daniel countered, "he's only sixteen."
"But he looks like he's in his early twenties!" John countered in confusion.
"Oh... That's right, you don't know... We Spartans mature physically half as much faster than humans. It's the mind you have to watch out for! Because he's not mentally mature yet, he still lives at home. Fred's in his last year of high school, though, and has talked about wanting his own place after graduation. I'm not sure he's ready, truth be told, what with the way he acts. He says he plays safely, but still..."
"Is all the family like that?" John asked, staring at the empty doorway thoughtfully.
"No, Fred's the only warped one... Other than my partner, that is. I should warn you... Sam's sense of humor... Well, it's awfully disturbing sometimes."
"You sound like you don't like him being that way very much," John said thoughtfully.
"No... It's not that. It's just that Sam has a bad habit of not censoring himself very well and will say or do something really shocking sometimes. I honestly do love him, but every now and then he'll do something so embarrassing that it's hard to be around him with other people. You'd think after nearly thirty years together I'd have gotten used to Sam being like that, but still... Maybe I just need to loosen up some more."
They heard the phone ring elsewhere in the house and a boy's voice shout. "Got it!"
"Is there anything odd I need to know about Henry?" John asked. "Anything he hasn't told me."
"No, he's a good person and I know he'll treat you well. I'm glad he found you... You're a nice guy too. I can tell," Daniel added with a smile.
"Hey Dad Daniel?" a young boy said from the doorway. "It's your work calling. Someone needs to change the viewing time for a house."
Daniel saw John's frown of confusion. "I'm a realtor," he explained. "William Danielson, my youngest boy, this is John, Henry's partner. Where's Ash?"
"Masturbating again," the boy said with a sigh.
Daniel looked flustered. "Again?" He sighed wistfully. "To be that young again myself... Well, I'm sure he'll come out soon so you'll get the chance to meet him," he said to the human.
"From the sounds of it," Will said with a grin, "Ash came about two minutes ago."
Daniel blushed furiously. "Stop that!" he gasped, his face burning as he left the room. "What is wrong with you kids?"
Will laughed after his parent left, turning to their guest. "I love embarrassing Dad Daniel like that!"
John laughed. "So... Any of your other brothers dating anyone?" he asked.
Will looked at him oddly before he spoke. "Well... Steven has a partner. A nice Greek immigrant named Giorgos. Then ther-" Suddenly, the boy's throat locked up and he looked shocked. His hand rose up towards his throat as though checking on something.
"You alright?" John asked with concern, moving to the boy's side.
A thoughtful look, as though Will was remembering something, brought an odd expression of realization to the boy's face and he relaxed, closed his eyes and nodded silently. He stood there a moment with his eyes closed, then took a breath, making the first sound in well over a minute. "I'm okay," he said finally, looking as though he was sorry about something. "Anyways, Giorgos comes over every Saturday for dinner with the family, so you'll meet him then, along with my twin brothers, Uncles and cousins, as well as my grandparents."
"You guys do this a lot?"
Will nodded. "Every first Saturday of each month, after worship."
"So you worship Apollo too?"
"Starting to. Everyone's shocked that all of us are worshippers. Well... Not Grandpa David because he's Lutheran, whatever that is, and Giorgos is Greek Orthodox, but I think he's only doing it because his family makes him. What're you?"
"I don't know... Not any more, at any rate."
Will shrugged. "You'll figure it out. You okay with Henry being Apolline?"
"I guess," John said slowly. "It doesn't seem too bad to me."
"Good."
"So what were you saying when you choked?"
"Nothing... Just remembered something was all. So what's your family like?" Will asked quickly, wanting to change subjects.
John's face darkened. "I'm not really comfortable talking about that. No offense, but they're not very nice people."
"Oh... Sorry," Will said, looking uncomfortable.
"It's alright," John said with a shrug. "It's not like you knew or anything."
"Hey," a slightly older boy said from the doorway.
"You finished jacking off yet, Ash?" Will teased.
"Shut up, Butt Smear!" the boy muttered in annoyance, then turned to their guest. "You Henry's partner?" he asked, looking interested.
"Well," John said slowly, "We haven't started dating or anything, but we'll see if we can make it last."
The boys stared at him like he was stupid, then looked at each other. Ash shrugged. "I don't think it works that way..." Will said slowly.
"You don't know the first thing about bonds, do you?" Ash asked the human.
"What are you Pipsqueaks pestering him about?" Fred asked from the doorway.
"John's being stupid about his bond to Henry," Will said.
"Don't call him stupid, Stupid!" Fred countered with annoyance. "He's human! It's not like they all know what it's all about."
"Yeah, Will," Ash said. "Cut him some slack. It's not his fault he's ignorant."
"You're not being helpful either, Ash," Fred added as he glared at his brother. "Get out of here, both of you or I'll sit on your heads."
"Do that and we'll never get them back," Ash countered teasingly.
"Out, you dicks!" Fred said, grabbing them both by the shirt collar and heaving them gently from the room before slamming and locking the door behind them. "Fuck! I tell you, if they weren't my brothers..." He sighed and turned to the human. "Okay, how much about the partner bond do you know?"
"Just that Henry wants us to be monogamous and maybe have kids together."
"That's it? That's all you know?" Fred asked, dumbfounded.
"Well that and we feel pretty strongly about each other... For now, at least."
"-For now-?"
"Well yeah," John said. "I'm not going to be an idiot and assume that this potential relationship will last the rest of our lives. People fall in and out of love all the time." John hated saying that because he didn't want it to be true, but he had to be practical. "I mean nothing lasts forever."
"Dude!" Fred stared at John in shock. "How fucked in the head are you?" John's face fell. "I mean you jump out in front of a car, have a freak out in the hospital and you can't get that you're the guy for Henry?"
"Look, he's a great guy, but I need to be realistic. We haven't had a single date yet and the way we met wasn't really the best. I mean I know he feels pity for me and worked to help me, but still... Henry and I haven't had a single date yet! Planning out our whole futures now is crazy! Besides... It's not like I'm the only person who can make him pregnant, either."
"Actually, that's exactly what it is!" Fred countered firmly. "You're the only person in the world who can make Henry become Emergent. If it's not you then it's no one."
"That's not possible," John said. "If that were true, then think of all the Spartans who never met their partners! The odds of finding the one man who can make you emerge, or whatever, are astronomical! The math just isn't there!"
"Well that's where Lord Apollo comes in. He guides partners together."
"You're saying that an immortal superbeing has nothing better to do with His time then to play matchmaker for homosexuals?"
"We're not technically homosexual, you know. At least that's not how we see it. We call ourselves men because we pretty much are so, but I never thought of myself as gay, just Spartan. Anyways, Apollo's omnipresent... He's everywhere all at once."
John shook his head. "That sounds way too crazy to me."
"But you met Him, right? Dad Sam said Lord Apollo spoke to you through him."
"Yeah, I met the guy," John said. "But still... I just can't see a fire god making elaborate schemes to hook people up."
"Apollo is the god of the sun, not fire. He's the one who gave my kind the partner bond in the first place, as well as made us into what we are. I pray to Him every day that I'll find my own partner someday soon. I just hope he has a kinky side too..." Fred spoke with a wistful look. "Someone I can force to dress up like a little piggy and make him squeal for me," he said lustily, rubbing his crotch through his jeans.
John's mouth fell open in a wide-mouthed goofy grin of shock. "Please tell me you're joking!" he said as he recovered.
Fred looked slightly embarrassed at that. "Uh yeah... Joking... Sure." He cleared his throat self-consciously and stood straighter. "Anyways... This partner bond between you and my brother is the real deal. You're a couple for life now. You'll be loyal to each other 'til the day you die. It's not just about having kids, you know. It's like you're each the perfect guy for the other, for the most part. You'll have disagreements most likely... Maybe get really pissed and chew each other out... Arguments are normal. Then you'll see how miserable the other is, kiss and make up, then everything will be golden again... Assuming you're into watersports, that is."
John blushed. "Fuck Fred, quit acting like we're in the middle of Folsom Street Faire or something!"
"I wish!" Fred said with emphasis. "I keep wanting to go, but the dads always say no. But in a little over a year I'll be eighteen and they won't be able to keep me from going. Man! The ultimate fetish fair only an hour's drive away and I'm stuck at home all the time!"
"Just be careful and play safe. The last thing you need is to catch something incurable," John said with worry.
"Yeah, I know," Fred sighed. "But I can always rely on Lord Joshua to bail me out if I get sick or something. I know He'd do it, but still... Better safe than sorry, so they say... Anyways... Trust me, you and Henry are it for each other. Think of it like a marriage if that's how you need to see it. Don't worry though, we'll wait at least a few months for you guys to get settled before we get you guys registered as a bonded pair. For now, take it slow and get to know each other. Don't let us feel like we're forcing you two together. We know that humans often have a hard time getting used to the bond, so we'll let you take it nice and easy."
"I don't know..." John said, feeling doubtful.
Fred looked at the human sadly. "What's wrong?"
"How do I know I'm not making something out of nothing? How do I know that what I feel for him is real?" Fred looked thoughtful for a moment, then moved over to John and took the human into his arms. "What are you doing?" John asked in shock.
Fred ground himself against John and breathed a gust of hot breath into his ear in the way that always drove men wild for him, kneading the human's buttocks in his firm hands as he did so. "You wanna do it?"
"What?!?" John asked in shock. "No! What's wrong with you?!?"
"Oh come on," Fred purred gently. "I won't say anything to anyone... You're really gorgeous you know. Cut loose a little... Let's have some fun together. It's just sex... What's stopping you?"
"Henry," John said sadly. "I... I-I can't do this! I won't cheat on him!"
Suddenly, Fred let him go with a smile. "Okay, you pass," he said happily.
"What?" John asked, feeling more confused than ever before.
"You could've taken me up on my offer just now, but you didn't want to betray Henry right?" John nodded numbly. "Then you're bonded. Let me ask you something else... Do you feel sad and lonely without Henry here to be with you right now?"
"Well yeah," John said slowly. "I wish he was here. It felt sad to see him head off to work. I know it's stupid and he has to make a living, but I wish he didn't have to be away so long."
"Definitely a strong partner bond there, then. You two really have it bad for each other, just li-" Fred's mouth snapped shut and he looked shocked for a moment. Then he relaxed and sighed as his mouth relaxed. "Just like my dads," he finished. "Trust me, Henry feels exactly the same way that you do, so don't worry about it." Just then his cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his pants pocket. "Sorry, let me see who this is. Ah fuck-" he said as he answered it. "Hey Lance... Sorry, I was talking to Henry's partner... Yeah, I know!... Yeah, he's pretty hot..." he said, glancing at John, who became embarrassed. "Okay, meet you there. Bye." He hung up and put the phone back into his pocket. "I gotta go. I promised my friends I'd meet up with them since it's a school holiday today. Catch you later."
With that, the teenage Spartan left, leaving a stunned and confused human in his wake...