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Hades allowed a sigh to slip from his lips, his gaze fixated upon the stream of the underworld as his hands grew idle. By this point, the amaurotine was unsure how long his hands had grown idle, how long he had simply given to simply observing the aetherial stream. If it had not been for Hythlodaeus's mocking prior, mayhaps the amaurotine would not have resolved to his brooding, the tightness in his chest. Idle chatter entered his senses, and yet, no debate sparked him from the intense gaze he held upon the stream itself.
You miss them, do you not? Hades listened to Hythlodaeus's words on repeat in his mind. Ever since Y/N filled the position, we see so little of our friend.
Hades still recalled the way that Hythlodaeus's lips curled upwards, a glint of mischief in the man's gaze as he held his gaze. It had been mere moments before Hythlodaeus's hand moved upwards, his robe slacked the slightest on the man's arm as his gloved hand fisted, covered over his mouth. Chuckling, he could remember, lasted a total of a minute. Though Hades held little patience for his ever-mischievous friend, he had not interrupted him.
Ah, ought I call them something more appropriate, Hythlodaeus's words tempted, teased Hades's mind with each playful word that slipped past his lips. Perhaps...your love.
Hades waved a dismissive, gloved hand to his playful friend, paired with the typical eye roll Hythlodaeus could hardly see under the man's red mask. Even so, as his lips parted for a moment, a thought to truly deny his friend's words, the words died upon his tongue. Azem had always been trouble, always getting into trouble with the Convocation, and Emet-Selch often had to watch the mess play out, for better or worse.
Hades slouched his shoulders, allowing his tired hues to close for a moment as he descended his face into his gloved palms. Anguished, the amaurotine could not push the conversation, albeit playful in nature, from his mind. He hadn't wished to create, to dismiss the time that stretched onwards unto their return. If he truly could busy himself, mayhaps he would not seek to dwell upon those words, and yet they would not slip from him.
Nearly another bell had passed, the amaurotine in the deepest depths of his own thoughts. Hardly had the man noticed arms slip around his shoulders at first, flowing silver locks cascading over his robed shoulder. It had been once a familiar voice broke his focus that he took notice to all of these changes, abruptly flushing.
"Aught it looks as if you missed me," slipped past the familiar's lips, nearly as playful as Hythlodaeus's words, and yet, they always held a sweetness behind them. "Hades."
The way his name tumbled so brazen from their lips nearly made him forget himself, forget that others could recognize the sight of Azem and Emet-Selch reuning so casually. Flushed, he rose his head from his hands, his brows furrowed from underneath his red mask. "How many times have I told you I have a reputation to uphold?" He scolded, his lips pursing for a moment. Even so, he found himself relishing in the feeling of their arms so tightly wrapped around his shoulders, their breath lingering so close to his face. "As do you, ought you forget."
Azem's laughter slipped past their lips, so carefree, though they retracted their embrace. Moving in front of him, they held a hand out, a grin still painted against their lips. "Aught we go somewhere quieter so I may properly greet you?" Azem spoke softly, clearly enthused by their friend's lacking amusement. Once a begrudging, gloved hand slipped into their own, they practically pulled the Convocation member to the nearest private area.
"I oughtn't understand your need for theatrics," Emet-Selch, Hades, replied finally as his lips ticked upwards the slightest. A gloved hand moved to slip his red mask from his face, to gaze upon Azem completely uninhibited. "Y/N."
Azem rolled their eyes, though they slipped their own mask from their face as their brimming grin had yet to falter. "Mayhaps I missed you upon my travels," the Convocation member teased wryly, their silver locks framing their face as their y/e/c eyes glinted with playfulness. "Brooding out in the open surely does little to keep your reputation anyhow."
"I…" Hades sighed, realizing though Y/N's tease had been simply that, they had not been wrong in their words. "I suppose you're right." His lips curled upwards as his yellow hues took in their features, radiant as they had been the day they said they would have to travel elsewhere the very first time. For a moment, his teeth pressured to his bottom lip, those thoughts swirling around in his head. For eternal beings, he still worried for Azem's safety, and with their carefree nature, he had every reason to. "It's good to see you hale and whole after your travels, Y/N. It always is…"
Y/N chuckled once more, setting their mask down before moving to engulf Hades in their arms. Resting their head upon his shoulder, they held the man as close as they possibly could, gloved hands loosely gripping the back of his robe. "It's good to be home, with you, once more," Y/N murmured softly, "...my love."
Words always seemed to slip so casually past Azem's lips, while they always managed to catch in Emet-Selch's throat. Yellow hues widened at their brazen words, though, if he were to be honest with himself, he knew those words as well as they. Spoken too little, or spoken just hardly enough, he wrapped his arms around the amaurotine, pulling them as close as he could possibly muster, only to part just enough to gaze into their y/e/c hues once more.
He knew not the words to speak, the words to convey how much he truly had missed Azem. In their stead, he pressed his lips fondly against their own, as if it were the last kiss he would ever receive. His lips moved fevered against their own, relishing in their taste.
Y/N wasted no time to reciprocate the kiss, melting into their lover's sweet embrace. Azem, Y/N, they knew their lover had not been one for words of grandeur. Instead, Y/N could taste the words the amaurotine wished to convey to them, drinking deep the tales of love upon his lips.
As the two separated once more, Hades's lips curled upwards as he murmured, "Will you regale me of your travels?"
For hours, the two would sit together, away from prying eyes as the traveler spoke of their travels. Though Y/N knew they would have to repeat themselves for their dear friend Hythlodaeus on the morrow, they took solace in their time with their love. Even as Azem would grow tired, resting their head upon Emet-Selch's lap as they spoke, they would never grow tired of the time they greedily desired with the one they missed so dearly.