Hermes was absolutely certain that no slave had ever gotten such genuine tenderness and care from Carrick and only because he asked for it in one way or another. It wasn't the first time Carrick had treated him like that and he truly doubted it would be the last.
He let himself shed a scant few tears for the both of them. "Then it's at least a little fortunate that I was named for a god of your land even if he wasn't yours. I may fade some in your mind, but at least you'll remember your little bird's name." He kissed him then, feeling like the moment allowed him to do so without asking, responding to Carrick's tenderness with his own far more open and honest than the other man's but only because he knew how to be soft, knew how to love and not as the angel said, never learned how.