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“In it is the Crab; after the Crab the Lion and beneath him the Maiden; after the Maiden the Claws and the Scorpion himself and the Archer and Aegoceros, and after Aegoceros Hydrochoüs. Beneath him are enstarred the Two Fishes and after them the Ram and next the Bull and the Twins…”
Charlie is distracted from his reading, yet again, by his boyfriend's soft cinnamon scent, where it lingers on the blankets he has wrapped around himself in their bed.
Even on blockers, Charlie likes piling up the blankets and pillows on the bed, like a mini-nest. It makes their space feel more lived-in, not the same generic room that's replicated twelve times on his dormitory hall. Plus, Nick always says how much he likes seeing Charlie like that, cuddled in with a tea and a book from his Classics course.
As if on cue, the door clicks open, and Nick steps through. With his flushed face and hair still damp from a post-rugby shower, even in a hoodie and joggers Charlie thinks he could be a child of Zeus himself. Seeing his alpha, even all casual like this, still makes the butterflies take flight in Charlie’s stomach the same way they did six years ago, sat together in form.
Nick pauses as he puts his shower basket on the dresser and looks over at Charlie, softness in his eyes. “You look so cozy like that.”
“Do I?”
Nick nods as he clambers into bed with him. Charlie can feel the warmth from the shower radiating off of Nick as he curls up against his side, head tucked into Charlie’s neck. "Whatcha reading?"
"Aratus' Phaenomena. I'm really enjoying my 'ancient astronomy and astrology' class, but I'm glad we're reading this book in English and not in Greek. There's so much vocab."
"Mmm," Nick purrs, rubbing his nose against Charlie's neck, nuzzling at his gland.
Charlie giggles, feeling the tickling flicker-flame that sparks in his chest whenever Nick is playful like this. He can feel Nick’s heartbeat against him, strong and steady like a tympanon, but manages to resist with a, "Not right now, Nick! Let me finish my homework first, at least."
With a sigh, Nick sits up a little more, stretching out. "You're right, homework first," he says, without disappointment. "And I'm beat from practice anyway."
Nick does a little of his own homework, which quickly turns into a little doze. When he gently awakens, Charlie is still reading, the Phaenomena balanced on his lap while he cross-references with a book on Ptolemy.
Nick watches him for a minute, admiring the slight frown on his lips, his brows bunched in concentration. As Nick shifts in bed, Charlie finishes a paragraph and glances over. He smiles at how soft Nick gets when he’s sleepy, and reaches over to brush a strand of hair off Nick’s forehead where it has fallen during his nap.
"Char," Nick says, voice still a little raspy with sleep.
"Hmm?"
"Isn't there a Greek myth about omegas? About how you came to be?"
Charlie slides his bookmark into Ptolemy and closes Aratus up, grateful for an excuse to pause his reading. "There are a couple. It's mentioned briefly in the Theogony, as one of the consequences of the war between the gods and the titans. Plato's Symposion includes Aristophanes explaining how both primary and secondary genders were created, though it might not have been a widespread myth."
"I think the one I'm thinking of happens on an island? We learned about it in Year 9 history class but I barely remember." Nick shrugs.
"You're thinking of the story of Chares, Nick. It's not a myth, since he was probably a real person who lived on the islands of Delos and Naxos. But it's been greatly embellished, so I'd call it a legend."
Nick smirks at him. "You're a legend, for knowing so much of this stuff. You really are a gay nerd."
Charlie bumps his shoulder into Nick's. "Why do you want to know about Chares, the first omega?"
"I was listening to that omega lifestyle podcast you recommended, the one with the really funny host.”
Charlie smiles at the fact his alpha is so understanding, the kind who asks for Charlie’s recommendations of omega-produced media and poses interested questions about his Classics coursework.
“This week’s episode got me thinking,” Nick continues, “about how life must have been different, for omegas and for everybody, in earlier times. I remembered that story being about how their fortunes changed, or something, but I didn't pay that much attention in class. How does it go?"
Charlie sits back, recalling the relevant Greek history lecture the year prior. "Well, as with almost any tale that's more than two millennia old, there are several versions of the narrative. Like, in Ovid's retelling, the character Eulalia is a disguise of the goddess Leto, but in the earliest text from Attica, she's an Egyptian priestess. Some scholars interpret her as a borrowing from a Mesopotamian epic, especially with how her lover Thales is described." He pauses. "I'm rambling again."
"I love when you ramble. It's cute." Nick sits up and pulls him closer. "Could you tell me the legend? The way you would tell it."
Charlie reaches over, placing his books on the floor, then rests back against the pillows. "It'll take a few minutes, so get comfortable."
"I'm so comfortable, Char," Nick says, shifting to squeeze Charlie close. He pulls the blanket up around them, then gives Charlie a gentle kiss on the cheek, comforting rather than passionate. It pushes a well of warmth up inside Charlie, gratitude at his fortune to have Nick in his life. “Ready.”
So Charlie begins.
“The spray of the ocean waves brought cool relief from the relentless sun as the merchant ship neared the shore…”