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Lately it seemed like every time Zagreus wanted to talk to Thanatos, he was impossible to track down. And on the rare occasions he did manage to find him, whether it was after a competition in the middle of Tartarus, or back at his father's house, he'd get a couple of sentences out, and Than would disappear in a flash of green light, leaving nothing but the echoing clang of a bell and a wave of frustration behind him. It made it hard for Zagreus to say what he was thinking.
He'd tried giving Thanatos gifts - nectar, and even ambrosia, hard as it was to come by - but it hadn't seemed to help ease the tension between them. In fact, if anything, it had made things more complicated. What if by giving Than gifts, he was making him feel obligated, or uncomfortable, or just... weird? Zagreus only knew that to find out, he'd need to talk to Thanatos for more than thirty seconds, and that would mean somehow convincing him not to just teleport away as soon as things got personal.
And so he resorted to a tactic that had worked for him in the past - exploiting his friend's curiosity.
The next time he ran into Than while out in the field, they had their usual contest to see who could kill more foes. Zagreus lost, although he tried to make it close since he figured Thanatos would know if he was holding back. Afterwards, he said, "You know, you always give me a reward when I win one of these challenges, but I never have something for you when you win."
Thanatos frowned. "You don't need to give me anything --"
Zagreus cut off Death's protests with a wave of his hand. "Next time we're both at the house at the same time, come to my room and I'll have a surprise for you." Than just gave a little huff and disappeared, but Zag was convinced that he'd follow through.
Sure enough, by the time he returned home, Than was waiting in his bedroom. "I told you that you don't need to give me anything," he said, before Zag could even have a chance to open his mouth.
"And yet, here you are," Zagreus replied with a smile.
"Well, yes," Than admitted, looking somewhat embarrassed. "That last bottle of ambrosia was incredible."
"I'll have to try it myself one of these days," Zagreus said.
"You haven't tried it?" Than's eyes widened in surprise. "That seems hard to believe. You've been handing it out all over the place - it seems like everyone has received a bottle or two from you."
Zagreus shrugged. "I guess I'd rather share the wealth than hoard it for myself. And I have a lot of people I'm grateful to for all the help and support they've given me. But you, Than... you've really gone above and beyond."
Thanatos looked, if such a thing was possible, even more embarrassed. If he had been standing on his feet, he would have shuffled them. "It's nothing," he said. "I just check in on you occasionally, if I happen to be passing by while you're out on one of your runs."
"And back here occasionally too?" Zagreus took a step closer.
"Now that I know you'll be here," Thanatos retorted. "That you aren't just going to disappear one day without a word."
"Oh, you're one to talk about disappearing!" Zagreus felt his voice rising, but he couldn't keep it under control. "You vanish in the middle of a conversation, whenever things get a little too intense for you. And don't you dare pop off now!" he added, gripping Than's tunic fiercely. This wasn't going exactly how he'd hoped, but now it was too late to turn back.
Thanatos stared down at him, bemused. "Zag, do you actually think that grabbing my clothing can stop me from teleporting away?"
"Well... I don't know," Zag admitted. "It might force you to teleport away naked, at least."
Than chuckled, and the sound, combined with the mental image, made Zagreus blush. "What was it you actually wanted to give me?" Thanatos asked, his voice low. "Other than a lecture about not running away from my problems, which is rich coming from you."
Zagreus, seizing the opportunity to get his plan back on track, pulled Than closer and gave him a kiss. It was hard and quick, and over sooner than he wanted, but it was enough to shock them both into silence for a long, breathless moment. They stood there, close enough to look into one another's eyes, neither of them knowing what to say or how to proceed from there. "Please stay," Zagreus said at last, "just a little longer."
"If I do," Thanatos replied, "can I do that again?"
"As many times as you want."