Chapter Text
Thanatos is sitting with Megaera in the lounge when the unmistakable sounds of the Pool of Styx parting reach his ears. There’s a splash of water, a groan, some words muttered that he can’t quite make out… and then footsteps.
Megaera snorts. “You would think he would’ve learnt his lesson by now,” she says dryly.
“You give him too little credit,” Thanatos replies. “It takes much more than this to tell Zagreus anything he does not want to hear.”
Megaera almost smiles at that. Thanatos almost smiles back. It is a briefly embarrassing moment for the both of them, with the tone of the conversation bordering almost on fond, so as quickly as it happened, they both move on.
Right on time, as well, because then Zagreus is coming in through the entrance of the lounge. Thanatos meets Megaera’s gaze again, and they both silently agree to end their conversation there.
Many of the things Zagreus is disparaged for, by his father, or by the Furies, or by anybody else who feels like casting stones at an easy target, aren’t actively bad traits. In truth, and Thanatos does not say this lightly nor would he say it aloud at all, the only thing about Zagreus that is objectively questionable is his habit of eavesdropping. Everything else is a matter of perspective, and in Thanatos’ perspective… Well.
He is the great equalizer. Death is not swayed by anything. Or so they say.
As it turns out, however, there was apparently no need for Thanatos and Megaera to stay their tongues. As Zagreus walks in, he does not even look their way; he simply turns left, towards the Broker, and slams down some keys on the counter.
That is unusual. Thanatos would be afraid to be caught staring, but it is plainly obvious that Zagreus is distracted, so he takes the time to study the wayward prince.
Zagreus seems… tense. It is like he has been wound up, a string of fate wrapped tight around his every muscle and bone, and now he stands so stiff and rigid that Thanatos’ bones almost ache in sympathy. Even stranger that it is Zagreus, so carefree and ever-moving, who looks this way. What happened out there this time?
Megaera clears her throat.
Thanatos looks back at her.
There is a complicated look on her face, but it passes so quickly that Thanatos has barely had time to decipher it before she returns to her usual stoic countenance.
They hold their eye contact for a while longer yet, and then Megaera sighs and pushes the remains of his drink closer to him.
“Let’s finish up here,” she says. “We both need to get back to work.”
Isn’t that always true. The first of the Furies and Death incarnate. There is always work to be done. Thanatos nods at her, and drinks the rest of the nectar. Megaera hadn’t clarified where she had gotten it, but he can guess easily enough.
As they both stand and move towards the exit, Thanatos is given view of Zagreus again. The lounge is barely occupied today: most likely due to the presence of the God of Death and a Fury. It means that he and Megaera both have a clear line of vision to Zagreus, and both can easily watch as he finishes up his deal with the Broker and turns away.
Whatever is bothering him, he is so wrapped up in it that as he goes to leave, he practically runs into Dusa dusting a nearby table.
Dusa gives a high pitched squeak as a vase on the table almost topples, then another one as she turns and realizes exactly who had just bumped into her. It takes exactly two milliseconds for her to burst into frantic apologies and laments, squeaking out a rapid stream of oh my gosh the Prince I am so sorry this is totally my fault please don’t tell Nyx until Thanatos couldn’t even tell what she was saying any longer.
Zagreus simply stares at her, eyes wide, knocked out of his own head and now looking like he had no idea exactly where he was or what had just happened. The lack of reaction seems to upset Dusa even more, because after several more nervous and rapidfire apologies, she bolts for the door and does not look back.
Zagreus watches her go, the strange bewildered look still on his face. His mouth is open, as if he was just about to say something to Dusa, but was too late on the uptake.
Just what was going on with him?
Thanatos turns to Megaera, who is watching Zagreus with narrowed eyes.
Without even sparing Thanatos a glance, she starts to storm towards Zagreus. Thanatos stares after her in equal bewilderment as he stared after Zagreus, seconds before. He goes to stop her, or say something, or even merely follow her, but before he can move he’s distracted by the sound of a familiar muttering coming towards the lounge entrance as well.
Surely not now. Surely.
Thanatos looks over and sees Hypnos hovering towards them, scowling down his list and muttering about Zagreus and the Pool of Styx and something-something redacted. Then, looking further down the hallway, he sees that the Lord’s throne is empty.
It clicks into place for Thanatos. Blood and darkness. This is why he does not take breaks. If he so much as looks away from the mortal realm, or from Zagreus, or even from the House, everything falls apart right under his nose.
He makes eye contact with Hypnos, who looks up just in time to catch the last steps in Megaera's rush towards Zagreus. Following Hypnos' gaze as it moves past him, Thanatos turns back towards Megaera and Zagreus.
Zagreus barely notices her approach, which can only incense Megaera more.
Her voice lashes out like her whip: fast and merciless and nigh unavoidable.
"Zagreus, what was that?” she snaps, and Zagreus, with the eyes of the entire House on him, does something unthinkable. He flinches at the sound. Just slightly, but enough that Thanatos was sure of what he saw.
Thanatos has never felt the bloody touch of injury in his life, but the shock strikes him like an arrow to the heart.
Even Megaera seems taken aback. Sometimes, the most godly thing about Zagreus is how impervious he seems to fear; he has never cowered from anything, never backed down from any fight. Even moving beyond that, supposing there were things above, beneath or on the Earth that Zagreus was afraid of, Megaera, first of the Furies, has never been one of those things. She could never be one of those things.
It is Megaera, and it is Zagreus. The thought is simply impossible.
Still. There is no mistaking it.
Zagreus, seeming much more cognizant of his position, looks nervously at Megaera. Then, he looks around the lounge, taking in the sight of Thanatos and Hypnos and the rest of the scattered crowd.
"Um," he says, eyes wide with something that surely cannot be panic but cannot be identified as anything else, "I'm going to go find Dusa."
Then, as if he still had Hermes' blessing fuelling his feet, Zagreus darts away from Megaera and out of the lounge.
There is a moment of complete, pure stillness.
Then, Megaera turns towards Thanatos. She looks at him, clearly taken off guard, but Thanatos has no answers to the questions she has. He, plainly, has no idea what just happened.
He senses somebody approach. Zagreus? Thanatos turns his head, hastier than he would care to admit, and comes face to face with Hypnos’ frowning face. Right. Of course.
“Wow,” Hypnos says, wincing as he stares at where Zagreus had disappeared, “he is not having a good day. Miss Megaera, you really freaked him out back there,”
Megaera frowns. There is no guilt in her expression, but there is… something.
“He’s never done that before,” she says slowly, sounding the most hesitant Thanatos has ever heard her be. “I’ve never seen him so…”
She turns to look at him again. Thanatos takes a moment to be incredibly discomfited by how Megaera seems to think she can find all the answers to Zagreus in him. He does not know. He feels as if he barely knows Zagreus at all.
Then, he shrugs, murmuring, “I know no more than you, Megaera. I’ve never seen him do that either.”
Hypnos cocks his head, putting a hand on his hip. “You were being awful scary,” he tells Megaera. “I mean, between the constant fighting, the brutal deaths, and the nightmares, can you blame the guy for being a bit jumpy?”
Megaera stares at Hypnos, speechless. Thanatos finds himself in the same position.
Hypnos stares back at them, and goes, “What?”
“What?” Megaera echoes back at him weakly. “Nightmares?”
“That’s what I said,” Hypnos replies with his infinite patience. “Fighting, death and nightmares. I do not want to be him right now.”
“How do you know he’s been having nightmares?” Thanatos asks, because the fighting and the death is obvious enough, but nightmares? People tend to offer Thanatos information about Zagreus, regardless of whether he asks or not, which makes him feel a complicated set of feelings that he usually ignores in favour of his work or... literally anything else, but he had heard nothing of this sort.
In a stunning reversal of tradition, Hypnos gives Thanatos a deeply unimpressed look. “Hello?” he asks mockingly, gesturing to himself. “A lot of people around here tend to forget, since I’m always tending this list, but my domain isn’t paperwork! I’m the god of sleep! Of course I know!”
Oh. Right. Of course. Thanatos may be possibly somewhat out of sorts.
He looks at Megaera, who is now looking in the direction that Zagreus had zipped off to with a tense expression. Once again, it is not guilt, but it is something. There is something. She has one hand clenched into a fist.
Always a woman of action, Megaera releases this fist, opens up her palm and stares down at it, and then storms off in Zagreus’ direction.
“There she goes,” Hypnos says. “Think she’ll make it worse?”
Yes. No. Who can say. Megaera and Zagreus are… complicated. Thanatos should go after her. Thanatos should not go after her.
Thanatos, realistically speaking, should go do his divine bidding. He hears the souls of many mortals calling to him. The sound of countless hourglasses smashing on the ground, whether half full or almost empty or barely started.
Although they do nothing more than alert him, Thanatos realizes that many-a-person would consider this nightmare fuel. What does Zagreus dream about? What would plague his dreams, when so little seems to plague his waking moments?
He realizes he’s gone too long without talking, or even moving, because Hypnos goes, “Than?”
He looks up, the movement jerky, to see his brother staring at him with a doe-eyed gaze. “Yes?” he rasps.
“Are you okay?” Hypnos asks.
Yes. No. Who can say.
“I need to return to work,” he says, because he does not know what else to say. It is so, so strange. He barely tolerates the world of mortals and its garishness, but ever since Zagreus decided he wanted more, the House has been almost as unbearable. Thanatos is starting to find the quiet routine of his work a reprieve every time he returns after visiting home.
“Oh,” Hypnos says, face dropping a bit. “Of course you do. I guess I’m glad I caught you before you left. See you around then, Than? G—”
There is a little known secret about Thanatos. He hates goodbyes. There is something to be said about Death Incarnate being deeply averse to goodbyes, but Thanatos will not be the one to say it; it is enough to know that he simply despises them.
Before he can hear the word drop from his brother’s lips, he shifts away. Back into the mortal realm. It has not changed since the last time Thanatos was here, and he doubts it will change in the next eons to come, but… It feels different.
Something has changed. Possibly even Thanatos. He has a lot to think about.