Dion was visibly nervous which was kind of endearing. He fiddled with his hair as he sat on the sofa, staring at the TV but clearly not really noticing what was happening on the show. It was a rerun anyways, but he loved that show. It was a total soap and I was surprised he had even watched one episode. He seemed way too smart to watch soaps, but maybe I needed to reconsider some biases there.

There was a knock on the door, and I rose to my feet to open it. My sister smiled widely at me and then hugged me. Kajsa was just about my height, had the same dark almost colourless skin and black hair. But she was way prettier. She was long and slim and as one of the very few women in our family, she held the role as the matriarch. She was the oldest too. First born and all.

"Arlo," she said softly and pulled back. "You look good. Did you finally stop eating all that junk?"

"No, I just started working out," I laughed and ran my hand through my hair.

"It suits ya." She brushed past me and hung her long red coat on the hanger in the hall and then she stopped. "You must be Dion," she said and smiled.

My boyfriend stood by the end of the hall and made a small wave. "Yeah, welcome."

"Thanks! I'm Kajsa, I'm Arlo's oldest sister." She grabbed Dion's outstretched hand and shook it. "I love what you've done with the place." She walked into the living room and looked around at the new furniture. It had been a while since she had visited. She usually stayed in hades with our father.

"I'm trying to make it snug, but I'm afraid Dion's better with the decor. He chose the lamp." I nodded towards the lamp I had hung over the dinner table.

"That's so nice. You definitely needed some nice things. You're such a cheap sake."

I chuckled and dumped down on the sofa. "Well, I kind of had to buy new stuff when Dion moved in. Couldn't let him live with old sofas and no lamps."

Dion snorted. "It was an improvement from where I came. But this is even better."

"Where did you come from?"

I cleared my throat a little forcibly. Kajsa was great, but she also had a tendency to ask questions that weren't the most appropriate.

"It's alright. I uh... Lived on the streets before moving in with Arlo. Technically I lived in the club where we work. Like in the changing room? I slept on towels. So the old couch was an improvement."

Kajsa smiled. "Arlo did mention something about you guys working together when he called. Also that I can't tell anyone for now." She made a motion of zipping her mouth closed. "Consider my lips sealed." She winked at Dion and then looked at me. "Offer me something to drink already."

I laughed and shook my head, going to the fridge to open the bottle of white wine I had bought for the occasion. The one drink my sister always wanted and craved.

"Ah thank you," she said very contently when I came back with a glass already filled for her. I put the bottle on the table and Dion poured him and myself a glass too.

"What about you? What do you do?" Dion asked and put his glass on the table.

"I work with our father down in hades. It's... Something else than up here, obviously." She took another sip, pulled a chair out from the dinner table and sat down.

"What do you do exactly?" Dion asked hesitantly.

"I make sure the souls find their way to Charon and his boat. So they can cross the river Styx and you know. Move on."

Dion glanced up at me. "Have you ever done that?"

"No. I uh..." I scratched the back of my neck. "I used to guard Tartarus. With a couple of my brothers."

Dion widened his eyes. "Woah. I did not take you for that kind of guard."

"I'm your 'that kind of guard,' Dion," I chuckled and took another sip of my wine.

"You don't see a difference?"

"In terms of what I have to do to protect the person I'm supposed to protect? No. I don't see a difference." I took his hand in mine. "We were born to protect. Doesn't matter what it is, we'll protect it all the same."

Kajsa groaned and rolled her whole head with her eyes. "Arlo, you're so damn dry about this. Seriously. We're also born for other things. There's more to life than our duty to protect."

I frowned. "I didn't say there wasn't anything else. But I enjoy protecting."

"And you also enjoy dumbass action films and pizza. So, you weren't born for this Arlo. I know Dad liked to say that when you were a kid, but it's not exactly true. You can do whatever you want. Date whoever you want. Break the rules, Arlo."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm dating Dion, aren't I?"

"Yes, little brother, and I'm so proud you're finally doing something other than guarding shit. Now you're guarding something much more precious." She smirked at Dion and he laughed back.

It was pleasant to have had my sister over. Dion and her seemed to get along almost immediately and it was nice to observe. I had mostly invited her to remind Dion he did have family. One he gained through me. They were to be his family too one day, hopefully.

"Hey Arlo?" Dion asked as he put oils on his horns, slowly rubbing the glistening substance into hard surface.

I pulled my toothbrush out of my mouth and looked down at him through the bathroom mirror.

"You never told me you guarded Tartarus."

"Nope," I muttered and returned to brushing my teeth. I grew out my k-nines and brushed them too.

"How come?"

I shrugged and kept brushing, focusing hard on my teeth. I would rather not talk about hades with Dion. He got so uncomfortable every time I did, so I just stopped. I didn't wanna make him uncomfortable, but it hurt. Hades was my true home. A home I loved. I had played in the halls of the dark castle with my siblings. On the meadows on the Elysian Fields. Heard stories of the horrific titans in Tartarus. Even seen their prisons once, when my father showed them to me. Styx and Charon had taken me on boat rides. Persephone taught me to weave flower crowns. I had so many happy memories from my childhood and the backdrop had always been hades. But I couldn't talk about my past with Dion. At all.

"Arlo," he said softly and turned to me, grabbing a rag to dry off his hands from oils. "Why does it feel like you've been hiding that from me?"

"I haven't." I shrugged again. "You never asked."

"What? Do you want me to ask if you've specifically been guarding Tartarus in order for you to tell me?" He frowned up at me.

"Not specifically. But you never ask me anything about my past. I figured you weren't interested. And when I bring up hades, you get super uncomfortable." I put my toothbrush in the little cup and took a sip from the faucet to clear out the toothpaste from my mouth.

"I... Never ask you questions..." Dion muttered and looked down at the floor. "I... I'm really self-absorbed."

I turned towards him and cupped both of his cheeks in my hands. "Dion," I said softly. "You've had a lot of shit going on ever since we met. I'm not angry with you. But you can't be angry with me either for not telling you about me. Alright?"

"I'm... Not. I'm really sorry." He circled his arms around me and pressed his face to my chest. "I love you. So much. I've just been so much in my head. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make you think I wasn't interested in you. I am. I think I just forgot you had a life before me. I know that sounds silly, but... I'd like to forget I had a one before you."

I bent down and kissed him feather softly. "Just ask me anything you wanna know."

He pulled back and then got a very thoughtful expression on his face. "How many siblings do you have?"

"Twenty-nine."

"Are you the youngest?"

"No, I'm twenty-two in line. So I'm one of the youngest."

"Who's your mother?"

"I don't have one."

He frowned even more then. "What? How can you not have a mother?"

"We don't get made the same way you do. My father drinks from the river Styx, then he lets some of his fur and blood drop into the water and we step out of it. So I guess the river Styx is my mother. Though she is a feisty lady and Charon would get terribly jealous if we did call her mother."

Dion snorted and took my hand in his. He led me back to the bedroom and we got changed into our nightclothes. Dion in his shorts and an old t-shirt of mine, and me in my sweats.

I dumped down on the bed and set an alarm for the afternoon. We had a night shift.

Dion draped his arms around me from behind and kissed my cheek. "So it's just your father then?"

"Yeah, single parent."

"You have a good relationship with him. Right?"

"Very. He has always been a good dad."

"Did you spend much time as a human down in hades?" he asked softly. I could sense a little nervousness too in there.

"I learned to shift when I was twelve. Didn't spend much time as a hound after that. Some of us are just not very comfortable in our hound forms so we prefer our human one." I turned my head and kissed his cheek.

"Then what happens?" he murmured, his hands running up my bare back. His fingers dug into my shoulders, massaging them. I couldn't help but sigh very contently.

"Those of us who don't do well as hounds come up here. Like me and my brother Nicosh."

"So, who raised you? And who taught you to shift between forms?"

"My father. My older siblings would take over his duties while he took care of the newest litter. It wouldn't be more than ten years and then we'd all be fully grown. A decade doesn't feel so long when you don't age very fast after the initial decade. Anyways, he was always there with us. Still is."

Dion pulled back so I could climb into the bed with my boyfriend. We both settled, sitting with our backs against the headrest.

"He was very kind when I met him. I didn't expect that." Dion's fingers slipped in between mine, giving my hand a squeeze.

"No one ever does. His reputation isn't the best. It isn't for all of us, to be honest. But in fairness, we do look kind of scary."

He tucked his hair behind his ear. "Can I see it? Or is it rude to ask?"

"Nothing you ask is rude, Dion." I placed a kiss on his lips before leaving the bed and pulled my sweats off.

"I like where this is going already." He smirked at me and then looked down.

"Gutter-brain. I don't wanna rip my favourite sweats," I laughed and wiggled my shoulders a bit, awakening the hound within me.

It always felt like coming home to hades. There was a special sensation, a special feeling, down there and now I was drenched in it.

My bones broke apart, slowly and very loudly. Black fur spread across my skin, covering my body.

None of it was painful. It was a really great feeling, actually. Like being submerged into a hot bath after a cold and long day. I had forgotten how great it actually felt.

I fell down on all fours when my knees broke. Then they turned outwards, my feet changing into paws at the same time. Claws sprung out of my toes and fingers, pads grew in my palms and under my feet.

I shook out my fur when it was over and met my boyfriend's gaze. He was staring at me with wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape.

"Do you understand me?" he asked with a shivering voice.

I nodded and flicked my ears a bit.

He moved to the edge of the bed and slowly rose to his feet. He very gently put his hand on top of my head, slowly letting it slide down my back. I couldn't hold back a very content growl. My skin was always more sensitive after a shift.

Dion smiled. "That's where that sound comes from." He bent down and placed a kiss on my head.

I changed back, slowly rising to my full height again. I put my hands on his cheeks, as my fur grew back into my skin, smiling down at him. Then I bent down and kissed him softly. And he kissed me back with no hesitation, as if I hadn't just been a massive dog.

I knew the form was scary. It looked like a grotesque mix of a German Sheppard and an Irish wolfhound. But larger. And darker. With larger teeth too. And more pointy ears that stood up towards the sky, like a wolf's.

"I didn't scare you?" I asked and hoisted him up, wrapping his legs around my hips.

"No, not at all," he said softly and then grimaced a bit. "Maybe a little."

I snorted and gently put him down on his back on the bed, his head on the pillow. I kissed him and he moaned softly against my lips. I couldn't help but smile as I pulled back and looked down at him, my smile fading again.

"I love you, Dion," I said.

He smiled back. "I love you too. Even when you turn all serious on me. Smile, sweet-face."

And I smiled for him.