Chapter Text
Another morning, another air raid siren of an alarm blaring loud enough to wake the dead. Zagreus hit the snooze button and rolled over in bed, snuggling against Cerberus’ warm fur. When he had decided to start taking Cerberus to his apartment instead of leaving him overnight in the kennels, Zagreus had splurged and gotten a queen-size bed. It practically filled the small bedroom nook he had made, and there wasn’t much free space in the apartment to begin with, but at least Cerberus had somewhere comfortable to sleep that wasn’t a cold concrete floor surrounded by other dogs. He dozed off. And when the alarm blared again, Zagreus groaned. It was yet another workday, the days of the week blending together in a blur. He rolled out of bed and padded to the shower, less than eager to leave the apartment.
The bathroom was cold, and the shower made a pitiful attempt to warm up, pipes creaking and shuddering behind the tile. Zagreus sighed and crossed his arms to lock in whatever warmth he could. It had been over a week since he had spoken to Hermes, and his cousin had yet to contact him through the weird app that he had forcibly installed on his phone. He acknowledged that Hermes hadn’t provided him an estimated timeframe on how long this would take, but he was beginning to become exceptionally impatient, even by his standards. And when Zagreus got impatient, he was bound to start making mistakes of some kind in his overeagerness to make something happen. The problem was that this was not the kind of thing he could afford slip-ups on.
His shower was less than refreshing. As soon as he felt clean enough to be presentable to the public, Zagreus turned the water off and quickly dried off before he could freeze like a popsicle.
Try as he might, he could never get his uniform as cleanly pressed as the handbook stated. The crease in his navy pants was always off just a bit, his shirt wrinkled at the hemline and along the pocket. Zagreus just had to accept that he simply had no talent for ironing. Once he had thrown on his uniform and avoided looking at himself in the mirror, he shook Cerberus awake. “Come on, boy, time to go to work.” Cerberus obediently got off the bed with a small, indignant huff and walked to Zagreus, nails clicking on the cheap vinyl flooring. Zagreus put on Cerberus’ collar before slipping on the rest of the harness. He slipped two fingers under all straps of the harness and, assured he hadn’t overtightened anything, the pair left the apartment.
They had barely made it to the elevator when a voice stopped Zagreus in his tracks.
“Pets are not permitted.”
Swallowing a groan, Zagreus turned on his most winning smile and faced his landlord, Apate. She glared at him with beady eyes magnified insect-like through overly-thick lenses, looking every part the sweet grandmother façade she portrayed to an unwitting populace. The fact she was an utterly horrendous human who never took care of her tenants did little to help endear her to Zagreus. “Was on my way to work and forgot something, and I can’t leave him alone on the street. Against protocol.”
Apate rolled her eyes at Cerberus’ K9 harness and grunted. He knew she didn’t believe him, but the uniform was usually enough to stop her from pursuing the issue. For now, at least. “I trust this won’t happen again,” she said, opening the door to the stairwell and heading to her top-floor apartment. The only one in the building with actual space to house regular-sized furniture and fully functioning amenities.
“Of course not, ma’am,” Zagreus called as the door swung shut, flipping the bird once it was flush with the doorjamb. God, he couldn’t stand living here, but he couldn’t afford anything else right now. He smacked the elevator call button. “Come on, Cerberus. Let's get to work.”
***
The workday dragged by as slowly as a man dying of thirst in the desert. It fell to reason that the one time he needed work to distract him it completely failed to do so, leaving Zagreus’ mind to wander back to getting his father’s wrongful conviction thrown out. This then led to wondering when Hermes was going to contact him, which in turn took him, frustratingly, back to his denied promotion. The few calls they got were routine at best, things he could do in his sleep. The monotony was broken toward the end of the day when Zagreus was seated at his desk finishing up the last of his paperwork.
"My dear nephew, a moment of your time?"
He swallowed a groan at the delay in clocking out. Spinning in his chair, Zagreus looked up at the owner of the rumbling voice.
Police Commissioner Zeus cut an imposing figure. His crisp designer uniform was pressed within an inch of its life, his flowing white hair and beard a stark contrast to the dark fabric. Ostentatious jewels adorned his fingers, an oversized diamond-encrusted watch sat glinting on his wrist. A beacon of extravagance among the overworked and underappreciated police station staff. Hades had dressed in a similar manner when he had been free but without the conspicuous finery. Zagreus’ father had preferred practical and well-made over extravagant-looking but ultimately useless knick-knacks, a trait which Zagreus had fortunately inherited. He cleared his throat.
"Hello, Commissioner. What can I do for you?"
Despite having lived with his uncle for several years, Zagreus had never felt fully embraced by his blood relative, and as a result, their conversations erred on the side of cool and formal. If he had had the choice, he would have preferred living with Megaera, but ultimately the court didn't side in her favor. At least he had managed to form close relationships with his cousins, and that had helped alleviate some of the loneliness in the house.
"My dear boy, how is studying going for your upcoming exams? I trust you are preparing adequately?" Zeus' voice bellowed over the din, coworkers turning to glance with suspicion in Zagreus' direction. Rumors of nepotism had spread from the moment Zagreus graduated from the police academy. Truth be told, he had applied to precincts outside his uncle's domain, but Zeus had exerted his influence and forced Zagreus to take a position in this station. Zeus even put him in a reporting structure that led up to his cousin, Ares. The whole thing never sat well, but Zagreus did his best regardless. It was that attitude that had earned him a good number of strong supporters who recognized his work ethic and capabilities. Their understanding made the workdays a bit easier.
"Very well, thank you, sir. I anticipate being in good shape when it's time to sit the exam."
"Excellent, excellent," Zeus smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. "I understand that you saw my rogue son Hermes lately? How is that little devil doing?"
"I'm not sure what you mean, sir? He's fine and it was good to see him, but you could ask him yourself when you get home."
"Ah, I see you haven't heard, then. Hermes rather unceremoniously left my household several months ago with nary a farewell nor a forwarding address. Have not seen the ungrateful child since."
Zagreus wished he could say the news was unexpected. Hermes put on a joyful front, but he knew underneath a torrent of rage and hurt swirled, all courtesy of the open secret of his uncle sleeping around and then absorbing the resulting love children into his household. Or, more accurately, thrusting the children at Hera to raise. Naturally, Hera had done her absolute best to make sure the children knew they were unwanted. He was glad his cousin had finally found a way out from under that hellacious roof.
"Apologies, Commissioner. I didn't know that had happened."
"Not to worry, nephew. When you see him next do let him know that the door is open for when he inevitably fails in this bullheaded endeavor of his. And with that, I must take my leave."
Zagreus offered a half-hearted salute as his uncle swept through the room, intent to return to his lavish office in another part of the city. He made a mental note to ask Hermes for details about his big move. Because, as far as Zagreus knew, Hermes hadn't had steady employment in years.
***
When the elevator doors opened to Zagreus' floor, he poked his head out to sweep for Apate. The scan didn't reveal any hidden landlords, and he quickly led Cerberus to the apartment before one could pop out from the shadows. However, upon reaching his apartment, he discovered that his door was unlocked.
Zagreus was very good about keeping his door locked. Hera had been an irrationally paranoid menace, constantly bursting into Zagreus' room when he least expected it to raid his things and accuse him of God knows what. Hermes and Dionysus saved him from these breaches of privacy by installing a bolt lock on the door. Traumatized by the experience, from that day forward, if there's something that could be locked, he would lock it immediately. Failing to do so caused his anxiety to become unmanageable.
Cautiously, Zagreus toed the door open. The counter lights were on in the kitchen in addition to a table lamp next to the small couch. He could feel Cerberus' fur bristling, his canine companion lowering his stance in preparation for an attack. Zagreus never brought his firearm home, and now with 80lbs of pure, compact muscle living with him, he had even less of a need. Together, they moved further into the apartment, eyes peeled for their intruder.
The intruder in question was lounging on the couch playing with his phone, a giant bag of takeout, and a six pack of beer set on the coffee table.
"Heya, coz!"
Relief swept through Zagreus, tension leaving his shoulders. Cerberus intuited it and relaxed, tail slowly beginning to wag. He looked to Zagreus for confirmation that all was well. With a soft chuckle, Zagreus nodded at Cerberus and closed the hall door, watching as the Dutch Shepherd leapt onto the couch and started licking Hermes' face with gleeful abandon.
They were off the clock, after all. Cerberus was more than allowed a little fun.
"Heya, puppy! How you doing, you little hard worker, you? You're taking good care of my slow-witted cousin, aren't you? Aren't you??" Hermes cooed, rubbing Cerberus' ears.
"Hermes, you could have at least let me know you were coming."
"Now where's the fun in that?" Cerberus flopped into Hermes' lap, eager for pets from someone other than Zagreus today. "Besides, part of the surprise is that I brought dinner. Classic American Chinese food, authentic as far as it being absolutely nothing like real Chinese food. Dig in!"
Zagreus laughed. He grabbed some plates and a bottle opener before joining his cousin at the coffee table. They picked over the take-out containers with Hermes occasionally dropping morsels of meat into Cerberus' mouth, chattering and joking all the while. It was nice to have company to eat with for a change. Or, rather, company that could hold a conversation.
"Hermes," Zagreus started, mouth full of lo mein, "Why didn't you tell me you left Uncle Zeus' house?"
Hermes hummed softly, taking a long drink from the beer bottle. "You work for him, coz. And I don't want him in my life at all anymore. Can't risk him trying to get to me through you. So I just omitted that little fact when we met up. Best to be safe with regards to him, you know."
“Did you finally find something that paid enough, then? I know you were having trouble finding work.” Zagreus chased the noodles with beer. He caught Hermes shifting awkwardly on the couch out of the corner of his eye. When it came to people he trusted, Hermes could be really bad at hiding that he was trying to hide something from them. This was one of those times. “Hermes...what did you do?”
“Don’t sound so suspicious, coz, it’s not like that. Well, not exactly. Less a ‘what’ and more a ‘who’? Can’t really say much about it but I guess you could say that I met someone and have kinda moved in with them?” Hermes started tapping anxiously on his beer bottle, his leg jiggling with such a fervor that the coffee table shook.
“Met...someone? As in, you’re dating someone? And it’s serious?”
“God, you don’t have to sound so shocked that someone could find me attractive, coz,” Hermes said with a laugh, balling up his napkin and lobbing it at Zagreus’ head. “Anyway, enough about my personal life. Not important right now. Truth is I came here for more than just a lovely dinner with a fabulous cousin.”
Zagreus snorted. “Yeah, I figured as much. But I’m going to bother you about this mystery significant other soon, you mark my words.”
“I’ll mark them and throw them away because I won’t be answering anything you ask, thank you very much. Anyway, I did some asking around and found someone who can do the digging for you. Like I said before, it’ll be for a price, but a payment plan is negotiable.” Hermes’ tone turned serious, his large brown eyes surveying Zagreus up and down. “I came because I wanted to give you one last chance to back out. Accepting this offer will open the floodgates. Can’t put anything back the way we found it. So I ask you one last time: are you certain you want this?”
Though Zagreus may have been impulsive when it came to reconnecting with Hermes over this, he had thought of nothing else since. He knew. He may be anxious and apprehensive, but he knew deep down it needed to be done. His father was rotting behind bars on evidence that even middle school-aged Zagreus knew was flimsy, if not fabricated. “I’m certain, Hermes.”
Hermes sighed, clearly having hoped that Zagreus would back down at the last minute. “You’re gonna sweep a lot of people up in this, so I hope you really do know full well what you’re doing and aren’t just saying that.” He pulled his messenger bag over and rummaged inside it, eventually pulling out a battered postcard. Hermes laid the postcard on the table, writing side-up. “As I understand it, your next day off is this upcoming Tuesday. Go to this address,” Hermes tapped the return address section of the postcard, “at 11 am. Someone will meet you there. They know what you look like, so just stand around being your awkward self until they come up to you. I’ll be helping wherever I can during this whole thing, so we’re still going to use that app I installed whenever we can’t meet in person.”
“And the details for the pay?”
“Do you trust me enough to negotiate those on your behalf?” Zagreus nodded. Hermes was extremely sharp. He might not be as brilliant as Athena, but he more than made up for it with his loyalty and perseverance in securing the best deal for those he cared about. He spoke as he re-clasped the buckles on his bag. “Alright, I’ll get that squared away for you. We can talk about it next time we meet up.”
“Hermes?” His cousin’s eyes moved from their task with the buckles to Zagreus, eyebrows furrowed in concern. He must be anticipating the worst. “Thank you.”
Hermes let out a gigantic smile in response. Now that Zagreus knew that Hermes had completely cut Zeus out of his life, he could see that his shoulders were loose and relaxed, his smile just a bit wider and more true. Zagreus would need to thank whoever helped relieve his cousin of his undue familiar burden in person when this was over and done with.