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Hypnos isn't one to vivisect anyone's intentions, or anything. But.
Zagreus has been—well. He's been seeming a little drained, lately. Usually he's as sharp as a triple-set of canine teeth, as witty and charming as a pomegranate blossom, but in this current stretch of eternity? He's downcast, his smile sour at the edges, his eyes flat and hollow.
Hypnos gives him a nervous grin every time Zagreus makes his way up from the Pool of Styx—he waves his scroll in the air, bats his sleepy lashes, chimes in with a new piece of ephemeral advice. And Zagreus gives him that hollowed-out look, sad at the edges and tired on the insides, and trudges away to make another attempt.
He's been like this ever since he first died of natural causes. Or, well, whatever natural causes seems to be—Zagreus tells Hypnos, a little bit, about seeing his mother and then having her ripped away from his grasp by having to do this all over again. But he's so determined. And for as drained as Zagreus has been looking, he still hands off bottles of nectar—and by the Fates, a few bottles of ambrosia—to Hypnos. Zagreus smiles a little shinier, puts the bottle in Hypnos's hands and clasps his own around Hypnos's always-shaky, always-uncertain grip.
It's—comforting. It's sweet.
"It's on me, mate. Have a good rest, yeah?"
Hypnos blinks, unsure whether to deny his napping—he's the god of sleep, it's not like he can't—but Zagreus really doesn't seem to be casting any judgment or, say, a hulking boulder of passive aggression like Thanatos might, so—
Taking a look at his scroll, Hypnos sees the cause of death is slit through the throat by an Exalted.
Hypnos notices the brief motion Zagreus makes with his hand, rubbing at the base of his neck. Perhaps where the wound was. Hypnos, for once, doesn't mention it.
"I—thank you!" Hypnos lilts, but Zagreus smiles weakly and is turning around, his steps dragging and his shoulders slumped, so Hypnos—
"Zagreus, wait!"
Zagreus stops. He looks back at Hypnos and blinks. Hypnos didn't realize gods beside himself could really get bags under their eyes!
"I, uh, heh, I have a favor to ask," Hypnos says, wilting in his place as Zagreus regards him intently. Sure, Hypnos has been nursing a little crush on Zagreus since—well, forever, literally—but it wouldn't ever work out, and the least Hypnos can do is be a good friend—"You know, if you don't mind—I was just wondering…"
He fiddles with his quill, eyes darting to the floor, until Zagreus clears his throat. "What is it, Hypnos?"
"Oh! Right, I just—" Hypnos smiles weakly. "Well, you're just looking so tired lately, and did you know, did you know? That sometimes mortals die from not sleeping, they just get so exhausted that their bodies just give out!" He laughs, a little high, a little nervous. "We probably don't want that to happen to you, and you never sleep, and you've been working yourself really hard lately, so—"
"So," Hypnos trails off. He scratches the back of his neck, fights the urge to rub at the cool flush spreading across his cheeks. "So I was…getting worried."
"I can assure you, mate, that I'm quite alright," Zagreus says, as though he isn't stumbling on his feet despite the Styx supposedly pulling his body back together from whatever gory mess it was when he died. A slit throat! No one ever wants to die like that! And Zagreus has been less talkative lately, at least less talkative with Hypnos, and Zagreus has been arguing with his father more and, and—
"The favor is, um." Hypnos sets his scroll and quill aside. "It's my break now, so you can come nap with me!"
Zagreus blinks. He raises an eyebrow, before he glances around the Great Hall. Hades is too busy glowering at paperwork, or maybe purposefully ignoring Zagreus again.
"...if it's a favor to you," Zagreus says. "Then I suppose I don't mind. But really, I don't need to sleep—"
"Sure, sure!" Hypnos floats up and grabs Zagreus by the arm, pushing him forward. "Break time!"
In Hypnos's domain in Erebus, Zagreus tries to remain standing for a few minutes before he finally gives in and sits down on the many soft blankets and pillows, so gingerly one might think he was hesitating to sit on a spike trap.
Hypnos, however, makes himself at home, kicks off his slippers, and grabs Zagreus's arm and pulls him in. Zagreus finally lies down.
His mismatched eyes stare into Hypnos's, and Hypnos smiles as gently as he can while reaching out to caress Zagreus's face—
Hypnos changes his mind at the last minute, and decides to poke Zagreus under the eye. Zagreus winces.
"Was that really necessary, mate—?"
"You're getting bruises there," Hypnos says. "I should know!"
Zagreus sighs, and Hypnos looks away and chews at his lip. Zagreus wouldn't be here if he didn't want to, after all. Except Zagreus is also a really, really good guy, and Hypnos did technically ask him a favor—
Zagreus curls closer towards him. Hypnos's heart flutters, a butterfly's wings seated in the hollow of his ribcage. Hypnos knows, logically, that he's a pleasant presence to be around when one is sleepy, but it's a little surprising, how fast Zagreus's breathing seems to even out. He's tucked his chin on top of Hypnos's head—they are, after all, perhaps too close to be platonic, but it's not like Hypnos has the self-restraint or willpower to stop.
Hypnos noses at the crook of Zagreus's neck. A slit throat.
He presses a shadow of a kiss there. Zagreus deserves some kind of touch that isn't a sword through the jugular, right? Satisfied, Hypnos snuggles in closer, pulling his sleeping mask over his eyes and exhaling slow and soft. They all deserve a rest, after all.
Of course, sometimes Hypnos drifts in-and-out of sleep and wake. Dreams are always far too lucid, and sometimes Hypnos's thoughts decide to take an unadvised ferry ride of lamentations and ramblings. He's a fairly light sleeper, as it is, hazing in and out of the warmth of Zagreus's grasp.
All of this is to say, Hypnos drifts and drifts and drifts for some unknown measure of time, but he awakens to Zagreus letting out a guttural shout.
Hypnos jolts awake, pushing his sleeping mask up and catching a glance of Zagreus's strained face—eyes shut tight, sweat beading against his forehead and curling his hair at the edges of his face. Zagreus thrashes his arms, his hand reaching up to his throat as he awakes with a scream.
"Don't—" he gasps, eyes wide and tearful. Zagreus is panting, heaving breaths that shake his whole frame, one hand clawing holes into the sheet as the other stays pressed to his throat as though to stop bleeding that isn't there.
Zagreus meets Hypnos's gaze—his eyes are wild, sparking and intense, and there's a brief flash of fear before he recognizes that it's Hypnos.
"S-shit," Zagreus mumbles. "Sorry, I—"
Hypnos gently rests his hand on Zagreus's shoulder. "Breathe, okay? I got you."
Zagreus nods shakily, before he lets out a chuckle that sounds vaguely like a sob. "Thanks, Hypnos, I just…I guess sleep hasn't always been a friend to me."
Hypnos's chest clenches. "I'm sorry you had a nightmare. I could've—done something to stop it, but I guess I fell asleep too fast…."
Zagreus shakes his head, leaning into Hypnos's space. "No, no, it's alright, I just…I guess it's been a while." He forces another laugh as he runs a hand through his hair. "...Can we go back to bed, Hypnos?"
"Really?" Hypnos blinks, and Zagreus smiles sheepishly. "What happened to I'll sleep when I'm dead? It took a lot of convincing for me to get you here, you know—"
Zagreus presses his head into Hypnos's shoulder, so sudden that Hypnos squeaks a little.
"I…I like spending time with you like this, Hypnos." His voice is muffled. Hypnos slowly and gently wraps his arms around Zagreus's shoulders, sensing a minute tremble in him. "Can we stay like this a little longer?"
Hypnos can feel Zagreus's rapid breathing, can feel Zagreus's tears soaking into his tunic, and Hypnos holds him tight.
"Of course, Zagreus." Hypnos leans back a little, lifting Zagreus's face and wiping his face with his sleeve. "I'll be here."
"Thank you." Zagreus wraps his arms around Hypnos tight, clinging, his fingers digging slightly into Hypnos's shoulders. "Thank you."
As Zagreus starts to drift off to sleep again, Hypnos stays awake to watch over him, to make sure his sleep is peaceful and soothing. Scares off any nightmares and cuddles close to keep him warm. Hypnos cards his fingers through Zagreus's hair and hopes, maybe, just maybe, that this is enough to help the one that he loves.