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Zagreus stumbled out of the Pool at the entrance of the House of Hades, spluttering and retching as he reconstituted once more. “Damn that arrogant Thesius,”he grumbled, rubbing the spot where the former hero’s spear had pierced him. The spiteful part of him automatically started planning his next escape, if only to meet Thesius again and fight him spear-to-spear…but he was distracted by Hypnos startling awake and flagging him down.
Zagrues couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face at the sight of the perpetually sleepy, curly-haired welcomer of the dead. Hypnos was his favorite part of this House (well, maybe next to Cerberus) and it made having to come back here time and again almost worth it. “Hello Hypnos,” he said warmly as he approached the smaller personification of sleep, “Keeping our guests warmly welcomed, as always?”
The God of Sleep let out a high-pitched giggle. “Somebody has to lighten up the mood around here a little,” he replied, “I see you were killed by Thesius. Again. You ought to try and dodge those the next time he stabs at you.” Hypnos made a little jabbing motion at Zagreus, who jumped back a little and threw his hands up defensively.
“Whoa!” he said,a little exaggerated, “I see you have a point there. I’ll, uh, keep that in mind for next time.”
Hypnos’ smile faltered a little big, a tinge of sadness coming over him “Next time, yeah…” he said, almost wistfully, “Well, I suppose I’ll see you around.” He turned to go back to his post and Zagreus was hit with a wave of regret for his repeated escapes. His was a constant struggle, between his goal of finding his mother - his real mother - and the guild he felt at leaving those in the House he considered to be family behind to face his father’s wrath. Hypnos, over the years, had become more than family even; Zagreus didn’t feel like he had much of a heart, but what little he did have was undoubtedly cradled by the sleepy-eyed little God. In public, they didn’t show their affection much; not that either party was unwilling, but both were more than aware of the Lord of the House’s opinion on the matter.
Zagreus had a strong urge to swoop Hypnos up in a massive hug from behind; he restrained this urge, and spoke up instead. “Uh, h-hey Hypnos?” he stuttered a little, clearing his throat. Hypnos paused and half-turned around, looking over his shoulder questioningly, and the Prince of the Dead briefly lost his breath and ability to speak for a moment; Hynpos’ sleepy countenance had him radiating a beauty that Zagreus fleeting thought Aphrodite herself could never compare to. “Um,” he said, trying to recover, “here.” Awkwardly, he reached into his robes and pulled out a small slip of parchment, offering it to the young God. Hypnos’ brow furrowed, further confused, as he turned and reached out for the paper. “This is for all the well-meaning advice you’ve given me after all this time,” he continued, “A little something from a certain double-bladed ax-wielding, bull-headed, oversized monster of a man that you happen to admire?”
Hypnos’ countenance did not change when he took the slip of paper from Zagreus. “What’s this?” he asked as he opened it up, “it’s, uh, kind of hard to read the handwriting.” He chuckled to himself as he examined it, then Zag watched as his eyes began to widen. “No way,” he half-whispered in awe, “It reads: To Hypnos, my biggest fan. Stay vigilant, Asterius. ” There’s…even a little picture of a bull here?” Hypnos literally sounded on the verge of tears; happy tears for sure, but the sound of the tremble in his voice still panged Zagreus’ heart. “You…I…wow….wow! I…wow…” Hypnos had continued on obliviously. His head finally snapped up, and his shining eyes found Zagreus’ once more. “I don’t know how I could ever thank you -” Hypnos started before Zagreus stepped forward into his personal space and put two fingers against his lips.
“Hush,” Zagreus said, his voice dropping an octave, “You don’t have to thank me.” His hand fell from Hypnos’ lips to his chin, tilting it slightly upward. “I would do most anything for you.”
Hypnos smiled brightly in that tired, close to sleep way he only did when he was truly happy. “Then you’ll let me come see you?” he asked, trailing a finger down Zagreus’ chest, “Later? Tonight?” All thoughts of escape for that night (day?) fled from Zagreus’ mind, and he found himself nodding in agreement. “Then, why don’t I go back to checking all these dead people in, and when I’m done,” here he gave Zag a wink, “I’ll come to your room. All you have to do is wait for me.” That sounded easy enough.
“I’m sure I can find something to keep me occupied,” Zagreus said as he motioned a farewell.
So Zagreus began wandering through the House, first encountering Dusa in the West Gallery. He took great pleasure in flirting with her until she blushed, and skittered away; nobody else paid the gorgon any mind for how hard she worked around this vast place, and Zagreus took it upon himself to remind her of how grateful they all were for what she did for them. Rounding a corner, he came upon Acheilles, where he briefly commiserated on his last battle, receiving some advice and a pat on the shoulder before the fallen hero wandered off.
He was wandering down the empty hallway by the administrative chambers when he felt a chill run down his spine. Exhaling, he noticed the already chilly atmosphere had grown colder; his breath making a cloud that briefly hung in front of him before disbursing. Zagreus knew this as a calling card of sorts for the arrival of death itself, and he turned around to see Thanatos appear out of a dark cloud of smoke. “I see you’ve returned,” he said, stepping towards Zagreus, “Fell to the Champion of Elysium despite all my assistance?” The gaunt figure, about the same height as Zagreus, moved into his personal space.
“Did Hypnos tell you?” Zag asked rhetorically.
It was lost on Thanatos. “He didn’t have to,” came the dry reply, “One can tell just by his countenance. He seems even more giddy than usual, however.”
“I gave him a gift,” Zagreus said, “He didn’t tell you?”
“As if you need to,” Thanatos scoffed, “He would fight your father himself if you asked, no bribe necessary.”
“It wasn’t a bribe, ” Zagreus said defensively, “In fact, it was something he asked me for. Something I’m sure you could have gotten for him instead.” His tone was more accusatory than he intended, but he bristled at the implication of some ulterior motive in his generosity.
Thanatos scowled. “Some of us have responsibilities around here,” he snapped, “and would do well to tend to those.” He turned to go, but shot Zagreus a look and said, “You better not have any intentions where my brother is concerned,” before vanishing the way he came.
It was Zagreus’ turn to scoff.
Later, while in his bedchambers, Zagreus lay ruminating over Thanatos’ parting words. They bothered him, as Than himself should be able to see that Hypnos wasn’t going to make much of a bargaining chip when it came to his escapes. Getting close to Hypnos only made him closer to the people he already considered to be family - Than included! Grumbling, Zagreus got up and started pacing around his room. It wasn’t like Thanatos to accuse him of being insincere; Than should know him better than that. Then…maybe it wasn’t about insincerity, or dishonesty. Maybe Than thought he was protecting his brother from something else. But what would he find so threatening about Zagreus?
The Prince, as he stalked around his room, walked past his wall scrolls of Dionysis and Aphrodite, and after about the dozenth pass, he stopped. Slowly, he turned to ponder the depictions of the Gods that he held and realized that Thanatos would know, better than most, who was helping him in his constant quest. A smile crept over Zagreus’ face, and he let out a low chuckle. “So Than thinks I’m becoming a bad influence on his brother? Is that it?” he pondered out loud before he heard a knock on his seldom-closed chamber door.
He opened it to find Hypnos waiting, with hands behind his back and shining eyes. Zagreus stepped back to let the smaller god in and remarked, “It seems awfully quiet out there. What did you do; put the whole house to sleep again?”
“Of course,” Hypnos said, as if it were obvious, “but since this time you’re not rifling through Lord Hades’ personal chamber, I doubt anyone will even notice.” Zag smiled to himself, as his father would definitely know but if all remained undisturbed, the Lord of the Underworld wouldn’t trouble himself much. “What were you doing while you waited?” Hypnos continued on.
“Oh, not much,” Zagreus replied with a shrug, “Just thinking about a conversation I had earlier today with your twin.”
“Thanatos?” Hypnos asked curiously, “Conversation about what?”
Not wanting to worry the small god, Zagreus replied in a joking manner with “I think your brother might have a bit of a crush on me.”
Hypnos’ response was to laugh outright. “You’re just now figuring that out?” he asked between giggles, “I mean, it’s pretty obvious he’s a little jealous you sort of chose me over him? Don’t worry though; it’s not like he takes it out on me or anything.” Zagreus stood staring at Hypnos as he said this, with an ever-lowering jaw. Hypnos, who had been occupying himself with various trinkets strewn about, turned to see Zagreus staring at him after the room had gone quiet. “What?” he asked, cluelessly.
“Hypnos,” Zag spoke slowly, “Are you standing here, telling me that your twin brother - arguably my best friend - is making weird threats to me, because he actually has a crush on me, and is jealous I’m with you instead?”
“Yeah!” Hypnos said brightly, “And ever since you started to escape and get in contact with your family, he probably thinks you’re becoming some sort of bad influence! He never has anything nice to say about the Olympians when he comes back from the surface, and since you both leave the house more than me, he probably feels he has more in common with you.” The small god came up to Zagrues and wrapped his arms around the taller man’s middle. “But like, as much as Thanatos wants to protect me from the surface, you go even farther! You’ve stood up to your father for me even! And you got me that amazing sleeper chair…it’s like you’re more committed to my comfort than he is!”
Zagreus could not stop the laughter bubbling up inside of him at his overly eager boyfriend. He once told Nix he considered Hypnos’ enthusiasm to be one of the nicer things about having to come back to his father’s dour House. “I am very grateful that you see the silver lining in all of this,” he replied, returning his boyfriend’s embrace, “and that Thanatos has only your comfort at heart.”
The Prince of the Underworld thought his boyfriend could be the God of Light the way he brightened up a room with his smile. “So you’ll come to bed and we can fall asleep now?” the curly-haired god asked, yawning for emphasis.
Zagreus leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on Hypnos’ forehead. “Of course. Lead the way, my God of Sleep.”
Hypnos giggled as he did just that, taking Zagreus’ hand and leading him to the plush bed sitting a few feet away. Climbing in together, Hypnos took a position with his head against Zagrues’ chest, arms wrapped around his boyfriend’s, while Zagreus gently stroked his hair gently.
“This has got to be better than being on Olympus,” Hypnos muttered as he dropped off. Zagreus let off a small chuckle, as he too fell under the spell of sleep.
END