Hermes went home heaving a deep and exhausted sigh. What a day.
When he opened the door...
Something immediately jumped to attack him.
A black xoloitzcuintle dog straddled him and started licking at his face, causing Hermes to drop his briefcase.
"Hahahaha! Stop it, Xolotl! Cálmate, cálmate!" He said, commanding the dog in the language it was more familiar with.
Xolotl had been his dog since 5 years ago, just before he left the village. It was owned by an old couple who passed away when Xolotl was only 8 months old. It got really attached to Hermes, so the villagers gave the dog to him as a parting gift.
Xolotl nuzzled its head against Hermes’ chest, then started running back and forth all over his tiny apartment space.
"Yes, yes. I have something for you." Hermes took something from his pocket.
He tossed a few small treats to the energetic dog. They were instantly finished in just a few bites.
"Good boy." Hermes stroked its hairless body.
Xolotl helped a lot with his homesickness and loneliness. Even though he does not have any friends in this cruel city, he at least has his dog.
The neighbors— that is, those living on the same floor as him, never really liked Xolotl. They thought he was ugly and called him names. They found the dog’s hyperactive and energetic demeanor annoying.
So Hermes felt that they were truly kindred souls. Both shunned by the majority, and only loved by those dearest to them.
"Crazy things happened today, Xolotl. I wish you were there to see it." He said as he changed to his casual clothes.
As he looked at his bare torso, he couldn’t help but remember how long Eirwyn stared at it and touched it to heal his bruises. He touched his own lips, remembering how Somner’s felt against it.
He would have preferred if it was Eirwyn who kissed him first.
He then covered his face. He literally just met him! And why was he having these thoughts anyway?
He has bigger fish to fry.
He spent most of his time studying hard when he was young, but he had a few crushes too when he was younger. If he can call them a crush.
Hermes doesn’t really know if it’s the same as everyone else. Emotions were a confusing thing to him, since he always tried to control them in order to not hurt others.
Was that feeling of admiring that intelligent teacher a crush? Was that feeling of wanting to push down a mean boy and fix his behavior a crush?
Who could really say, since nobody else could feel what feels?
But perhaps what his mind could not comprehend was something that his body could explain.
Because as he thought of Eirwyn and Somner, his lower body reacted and he felt a warmth between his legs. A monster has awakened in his pants!
"What the..." He immediately became ashamed.
Two people he barely knew... TWO! Not just one. Isn’t that really perverted?
"I should just take a shower. It’s probably just from the stress." He told himself, and rushed in to defeat the monster with cold water.
After calming himself down, he had dinner with Xolo and then watched the news. He always looked forward to the latest updates about hero missions, and which villains and Void creatures to look out for.
The reporter was a woman that can cast a force field shield around herself and the cameraman. She was standing in the middle of a burning battlefield in a Danger Zone.
"Things are looking dire for our heroes, as the supervillain Magnarok summoned the magma from under the earth to rise to his call! Turning this zone into literal hell! Can the guild ever make a recovery from this!?"
In the background, a group of heroes did their best to put out the fire but found it difficult as more just kept on rising.
Magnarok, a villain with skin that looked like burning coal, laughed uproariously. "Is this the best you can do, uplanders? Can’t handle the heat from the Underworld!?"
He was also commanding a bunch of Void creatures that have burning rock bodies. They were as big as skyscrapers, and have features that would be difficult to describe and horrifying to even fathom.
Suddenly a rain of sharp ice daggers shot out towards him and his Voidlings.
The reporter excitedly explained to the viewers: "Is that who I think it is!? Yes! It’s Cryoshift, coming at the last minute to save the day!"
Hermes knew Cryoshift personally. He was the head of their department after all.
Hermes frowned. "I thought he was on vacation. I guess he couldn’t resist the urge to show off."
Cryoshift wore a white and blue latex suit, his blue hair frozen into a permanent spiky shape like the ice daggers he sent. The power does not come from his hands, however.
It was from his eyes, which wore visors to increase the distribution of his freezing vision.
He wore a smirk as he put out all the flames Magnarok summoned. "I think it is time you go back to the underworld, lava demon. Frost bites, you know?"
"YOU! How did you get here so fast!? You said you were going on a family vacation!?" Magnarok exclaimed.
Because of their powers, they have become natural enemies so this was not the first time they encountered each other. You can say they were each other’s archnemesis.
"I came as soon as I smelled your wretched smoke." Cryoshift grinned. "Now, are you going to cool down or should I put you in an ice coffin for good?"
Magnarok grumbled, and let out a shout. Soon, the earth swallowed him into its lava, and he went back underground.
Hermes yawned at this. "He always lets him get away. Probably because he knows that’s the storyline that sells the most. I hate performative heroes. They probably plan out these encounters on the down low."
It was not uncommon for conspiracies of heroes and villains working together to put on a show to exist.
After all, in this world, fame was everything. You get more funding the more missions you get, and your social standing relies on how often people see you saving others.
Hermes used to admire Cryoshift a lot. He was the reason why he applied to the Golden Apple in the first place.
If he had to pick a hero crush, it had to be him. He was very attractive and charismatic. But....
That was until he learned how he truly was without the costume.