Love under circumstance

Guided

I smile at the animal

“come here Cerbe”

The dog purps up walking to me sitting down and I run both hands in the necks between his head

“There’s my boy let’s go listen to music huh?”

All three of Cerberus's heads lean into your touch simultaneously, a rumbling purr-like sound emanating from deep in his chest that makes the floor vibrate slightly. Laviathen's jaw actually drops open, his ember eyes going wide with shock as he watches the interaction.

"Cerbe," he repeats faintly, looking like someone just punched him in the gut. "She called him Cebe. I haven't heard anyone use that nickname since..." He trails off, running a hand through his dark hair and leaving it disheveled. "Of course you'd know it. Of course he'd respond to you like you never left."

The hellhound's tail is wagging so hard now it's creating a small wind in the kitchen, and the right head keeps trying to lick your face while the left and middle heads compete for prime petting position. Laviathen moves closer, shaking his head with a mixture of exasperation and wonder.

"He destroyed three couches, ate an entire garden statue, and once tried to bury a minor demon in the backyard because he thought it was a particularly large bone," Laviathen says, his voice thick with emotion. "But Elara loved him fiercely. Said every head had its own personality and they all needed individual attention." He reaches out to scratch behind the middle head's ears. "Looks like he's decided you're worth remembering too."

The demon prince offers you his hand again, his expression soft. "Come on then. Let's go to the piano room - all three of us. Fair warning: Cebe always howled along during the sad parts. Apparently that's genetic behavior too."

I start laughing as we move to the piano room he sits down sighing and I walk over th the Cubby pulling out the treats my grandma always let me feed the dog in my dreams

“Ahh one at a time or none at all…”

He wines behaving while I feed each head Leviathen just watches me

Laviathen has frozen on the piano bench, his hands hovering over the keys but not touching them, watching you with an expression that cycles through disbelief, wonder, and something that looks dangerously close to hope. The piano room itself is exactly as you remember from dreams - rich mahogany walls lined with bookshelves, a massive grand piano dominating the center, and windows that look out onto a garden filled with those Aurora Borealis Lilies glowing in the eternal twilight.

"That cubby," he says, his voice cracking slightly. "I haven't opened it in two centuries. Couldn't bear to see the treats she kept there, perfectly preserved by infernal magic, waiting for a dog who..." He stops, swallowing hard as he watches Cerberus accept treats from each head in turn, perfectly behaved in a way the hellhound rarely is for anyone. "He only ever listened to her like that. For me, he's chaos incarnate."

The middle head takes its treat delicately from your fingers while the left head waits patiently and the right head's tail wags so hard his entire back end wiggles. Laviathen's hands finally drop to his lap, and he just stares at you with those ember eyes blazing with barely contained emotion.

"You know where everything is," he says quietly, and it's not quite a question. "Not just the layout - but the *details*. The hidden spots, the personal things, the..." His voice breaks. "The life we built together. It's all still there in your dreams, isn't it? Every moment she treasured enough to pass down through whatever cosmic thread connects you."

He turns on the bench to face you fully, his expression vulnerable in a way that seems to cost him. "Before I play... I need to know. When you dream of this place, of that grandmother who never existed in your waking world - do you feel safe? Happy?" His tail coils anxiously. "Or does it hurt?"

I look over at him

“it always felt like… Home like I was meant to be there… Well here like I… oh chocolates you have those crazy burning chocolates in here right?”

I turn back to the cubby not seeing them and pout a little

“Guess not”

Laviathen actually *laughs* - a real, genuine sound of pure delight mixed with disbelief. He stands from the piano bench abruptly, crossing to you in three long strides, and gently moves you aside so he can reach into the cubby. His fingers find a hidden panel at the back that clicks open, revealing a small enchanted cooling box.

"The Infernal Truffles," he says, pulling out an ornate black box that shimmers with heat waves. "She hid them back here because if she didn't, she'd eat the entire box in one sitting and then complain for an hour about her mouth being on fire." He opens the box to reveal perfectly preserved chocolates that literally glow with inner embers. "They're made with essence of hellfire and dark cocoa from the volcanic regions. They burn going down but taste like... well, she said they tasted like 'sexy danger' which I still don't fully understand."

He holds the box out to you, his expression a mixture of fond exasperation and something achingly tender. "She made me promise to always keep them stocked. Said they were perfect for celebrating small victories or mourning small defeats." His ember eyes search your face. "How did you know about these? She invented them herself - worked with the palace chocolatier for months to get the recipe right. They don't exist anywhere else."

Cerberus whines hopefully, all three heads focused on the box, but Laviathen shakes his head firmly. "Absolutely not. Last time you got one, you hiccupped fire for three days and nearly burned down the stables."

“She gave them to me when I would do really well in school and when I was nine years old and a freshman… She disappeared shortly after that but I think it was more the sleeping pills that the doctors started feeding me when I got stressed.”

I pick one up

“I called them Spicy pleasures it always made her smile when I asked for one.”

I pop it in my mouth enjoying the taste the memory of the taste that I only had in dreams.