CHAPTER 43: THE REAL APHRODITE

It took quite a while for Aphrodite to answer. Eventually, he gives a tiny nod.

Hermes felt happy for some reason. Not simply because he gets to kiss him, but because he felt that his friend who had been closed off for so long just made a huge gesture of trust by agreeing to this.

Allowing someone to read your thoughts... That’s not something you just do with anyone.

And so, he wanted to savor the moment.

"I’ll take it slow, ok?" He placed his hand by his neck, his thumb rubbing Aphrodite’s jawline.

Aphrodite nodded again, then closed his eyes.

This felt a lot different from kissing Somner. With Somner, it felt like he was complying to something Somner wanted. Not that he didn’t want it to, but his goal was to satisfy Somner’s wishes.

Here... He really wanted to know Aphrodite more.

He wanted to see what was truly in his friend’s heart. What he has kept hidden all these years.

Hermes gradually pressed his lips against Aphrodite’s soft ones....

He allowed Aphrodite to gather his strength to reciprocate. Soon enough, he felt some movement. He followed the pace.

It was sweet and almost soothing, like the scent of the flowers near them.

Then, they parted.

His system popped up to announce his new ability.

[You have stolen the Mindbloom Ability.

Class: C

Duration: 6 minutes and 9 seconds

Strength: 82%]

Hermes tilted his head. "Aw, your power name is called Mindbloom. That’s really cute."

He turned to Aphrodite, who was staying quiet and just staring at a flower. He just nodded politely. "I see..."

Then...

He saw them.

Pink bubbles rising up above his head, then turning into those thought bubbles in comic strips.

Hermes got excited. Would it read like Aphrodite’s recollection of their memories? Or what he really thought of him and their friendship? Or—

[Fuck, his lips taste like pinot noir grapes set out to dry in the hot Mediterrenian sun. I want to get drunk on those lips and have his hot saliva flow through my throat and straight to my core.]

Hermes blinked. "What?"

Aphrodite blinked back. "What?"

His expression showed no signs of any of these artistically lewd thoughts. He remained serene like a painting, his posture still meek and demure.

[Oh gosh! Is he reading my thoughts now? He probably thinks I’m a freak!]

Hermes raised his hand defensively. "No, no! It’s completely normal to think that way! I think it’s very poetic!"

Aphrodite’s thought bubbles turn from pastel pink to dull mauve.

[I hope that lightning will strike me at this moment. I’m despicable. How dare I think of Hermes like this? I deserve to have maggots eat me alive and turn me into their meal because I belong with the dirt and filth of this world.]

[I wanna die.I wanna die. I wanna die. Someone kill me now.]

[Please, anyone. I wish someone would just crush my obscene, lascivious brain!]

Hermes grabbed his shoulders. "Aphrodite! Please, enough! Don’t think of thoughts like that!"

Aphrodite didn’t say anything, his poker face really strong.

"I think this is a bad idea." He said matter-of-factly.

"...Yeah." Hermes bowed his head. "I’m really sorry. I didn’t think this through. I just wanted to get to know you better.’

Aphrodite’s expression softened. His thoughts went back to pink, but a lighter, almost pearly color.

[Hermes had always been so sweet. I don’t deserve him. Ah... That’s why I’ve had the biggest crush on him since I was 7.]

Hermes turned red. "You... You’ve always liked me since that long? Why didn’t you tell me?"

Aphrodite’s eyes widened, though he still remained blank like a doll. He covered Hermes’ eyes.

"Enough."

Hermes scratched his head. "Ah, yeah. Good thing this only lasts 6 minutes or so. I’ll just... Try not to pay attention to your thoughts anymore."

"... Good."

So the truth really has its consequences, it seemed.

Hermes was hoping to just glean into Aphrodite’s psyche a little bit, but he got more than he bargained for. It only made sense. After all, humans constantly have a miasma of thoughts running in their mind all the time. And they always change.

It’s all normal. The perverted thoughts, the morbid thoughts, the embarrassing thoughts... They were all part of who we are.

Moments passed with Aphrodite still covering Hermes’ eyes. They stay still like the flowers and grass in the field, becoming one with nature that does not feel shame for what it is.

Hermes gently took Aphrodite’s hand off his eyes.

"Aphro.... You don’t have to be scared. I will never judge you for your thoughts. You never judged me for mine, and besides... They’re all normal. We all have those thoughts sometimes."

Aphrodite didn’t say anything.

Then, he pointed up.

His thought bubble said:

[Can you blame me for falling for someone as sweet and real as you?]

Hermes turned red at this. "You’re quite the flatterer internally, huh? How many pick-up lines do you have saved in there?"

Aphrodite shook his head. "It’s not a pick up line. It’s how I have always pondered about you. Hermes..."

[Someone like you is rarer than the rarest gems on this earth. More elusive than any pearl in the sea. Brighter than any celestial body in the sky. You have always been different from the rest, and perhaps that is why many are drawn to you. Your magnetism is stronger than a neutron star.]

Hermes recalled that Aphrodite was very much aware of all the men that he had encounters with.

"Are you... jealous of them?"

Aphrodite shook his head, and pointed as his thought bubbles to say the things he could not say.

[I don’t think I have the right to be. Plus, I’m happy that you are loved. Because you are lovable, Hermes. It’s unfortunate that life made you believe otherwise.]

The thoughts turn slightly desaturated, going to that grayish purple tone.

[I just hope that I can be deserving of the care you give me. I really haven’t done anything for you as a friend. I even pushed you away... You must feel awful when I distanced myself without explanation.]

"I am. But that’s just proof of how much you matter to me." Hermes took his hand, kissing it.

[Hermes...]

"Aphrodite... You are also loved. And you are deserving of love." Hermes said. "Even if you do not say it out loud, I can feel it. And now I know. I know now how voluminous your affection is, it’s just hidden."

Eventually, the thought bubbles fizzled out, and his experience reading with his dear friend’s mind had ended.

But it at least changed things for the better.