Chapter Text
Zagreus had never seen the world outside of Hades. Scratch that, Zagreus had never even seen the UNDERWORLD outside of the House of Hades. The land namesaked for his father, the realm he was a prince of only in name remained unknown to him. The prince of Hades, and he hadn't ever even stepped foot into Tartarus. He had some semblance of its appearance given the view from his courtyard but he couldn't even begin to guess what Asphodel or Elysium looked like. In his earlier years he had tried bribing passing shades to tell him stories of life outside of the house, but his father quickly caught on. Not even diamonds were enough to sway their fear of his father's wrath. It was a lonely existence, being a house-bound prince.
There were often guests within the home, however none seemed particularly fond of him. It was clear that what little tolerance the residents of the realm had for him was only out of fear of his father. The more esteemed guests of the house such as Megaera seemed to tolerate him better, but even then Zagreus could always tell something was off. The tone she would take, the pitying looks she would give - it was clear to him that in her eyes, he was a sad excuse for a god. And he was beginning to agree. Years of being talked down to and ignored had taken their toll on Zagreus' self-image. Though, there was one god that made him feel like he was worth more than the House could offer. And as the prince stared into the great hall and saw a flash of green, he knew that person had just arrived.
"Than!" Zagreus called, jumping from his position and hurrying over towards the west hall. The taller man glanced over his shoulders and then proceeded to continue to his favorite spot outside of the administrative chambers. And - did he smile? Zag's heart skipped a beat as he couldn't help but proceed even faster towards his friend.
When he finally reached the western balcony, he was positively radiating joy. One of the only sources of joy in this house had been his friend Than. Lately he found himself counting the days (or more often, weeks) as he waited for him to return from his chthonic duties. Than looked particularly worn out, unsurprising as he had been gone so long that Zagreus had lost count of the days. Not that he could really tell time in the House without a proper clock - or Sun. Despite the clear exhaustion in Than's eyes, Zagreus found him beautiful. His hair, long and full of luster, rested gently against his shoulder. Zag would never get over how muscular Than was - it took Zagreus months of training to refine his build, but Than was simply made that way. Crafted to perfection. It was no wonder to Zagreus that he lo-
"Ahem." Than cleared his throat and looked at Zagreus with a raised eyebrow. Zag had clearly been staring for a bit too long. He had just gotten a bit distracted is all.
"Than! I've… I missed you so much. How have you been, friend?" Thanatos seemed to flinch a bit at the word friend. The voice in the back of his mind raised concern with this, but he paid it no mind. He was too excited to see Than to care about his insecurities right now.
"I have been well, Zagreus. Though I will not lie, keeping up with the mortals has been particularly difficult as of late. I'm afraid even now I can feel the pull of their souls. I don't think I'll be able to stay long."
The smile fell from Zagreus's face near immediately. They had just been reunited and Than was already talking about leaving?
"Already? I haven't seen you in… in so long that I can't recall the last time we met." Zagreus frowned and looked somewhat desperately towards his friend, his best friend. It had been a very difficult past few months. His father was growing increasingly angry at him for his lack of competence in his administrative chamber duties and everyone in the house seemed to avoid him. He was unsure if they did so out of dislike for him or if his father had ordered them all to stay away. He wouldn't put that past the god.
"I can stay for a bit, Zagreus. I returned to report my progress to Master Hades but…" Than glanced towards the line of shades which was growing in the great hall, "it seems he's preoccupied at the moment."
"Oh." So Than had returned for his father. It was foolish of Zagreus to assume that he had wanted to see him, longed to see him the way that he longed for Than. Zagreus smiled weakly, the joy not reaching his eyes.
"Well in that case, why not tell me about the surface while we wait?" Zagreus said. Talk of the surface never failed to cheer him up before. It was also an easy way to keep Than talking.
"The surface? It has been very cold as of late. In fact, Greece is blanketed by snow. And the snow makes the brightness so much wor-" Than stopped, noticing the prince's confusion. The pitying look that Zag was so accustomed to from others managed to find its way to Than's face. "Snow is like rain- you do recall my tales of rain?" Zagreus nodded, prompting Thanatos to continue, "It is like the rain, however it falls from the sky only when it is cold. It is very soft and melts into water when exposed to warmth. Though warmth seems to be a rarity up there as of late."
Zagreus listened to his friend with great curiosity. He couldn't imagine living somewhere without warmth. The House was quite warm, whether due to his father's preference or simply a trait of the realm he was unsure. He then glanced over the railing at the river Styx. He had learned from Achilles that the surface is green and lush with plants. It must be an interesting change of pace for the green surface world to be covered red with snow. He began to wonder if some of the melted snow had managed its way into the Styx and reached him all the way down here. His gaze returned back to Thanatos, who seemed to be a bit lost in thought himself. He glanced around, leaning in slightly towards Zagreus.
"Between you and me," Thanatos glanced around a second time, hushing his voice. "I am not fond of the light that Apollo chariots over the sky in the surface realm. The snow makes the light even less tolerable than usual." Zagreus could not understand what his friend meant by this, but he nodded in agreeance all the same. "I am much more comfortable here in the House."
"In that case Than, why not stay here?" Zagreus' suggestion sounded a bit more desperate than he had intended.
"Zagre-no, Zag…" Thanatos paused, thinking deeply about his response. He sighed, then proceeded to make eye contact with the prince. "We've been through this. You know- I can’t neglect my responsibility to this House."
"Can't you just stay a bit longer today? Please?" Zagreus was practically begging at this point, though Thanatos was clearly not amused. He didn't even seem to be considering the plea, prompting the prince to continue. "I'm sure the surface can stand a day without your presence."
"Enough Zagreus! I can't keep repeating myself. We've been through this before." Thanatos pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Shades began to whisper in the distance. This didn’t surprise Zagreus- the death incarnate rarely raised his voice. Zagreus offered a sad smile in apology.
"Of course. Sorry to bother you. I'll… I'll leave you be then." Zagreus stated, turning away from his friend and heading towards his room.
Unbeknownst to the prince, Than considered stopping him but decided against it. Death sighed.
"A pleasure seeing you, Zagreus." There was some hurt in Thanatos' voice, almost convincing Zagreus to turn around and ease the tension between the pair. Zagreus simply couldn't bear to look at his friend though. He felt positively stupid after letting his emotions get the better of him. He knew Thanatos would never choose him over his duties. It was stupid to even suggest. Tears amassed at the corner of his eyes as he quickened his pace.
"A pleasure, Than."
x
Zagreus hid in his bed chambers for what he only could assume was a few hours. He had secretly hoped Than would appear before him. He knew that Death would come eventually - Thanatos always said goodbye to the prince before leaving for the surface - but he was growing inpatient. He found himself sneaking into the garden to distract himself, deciding to rest his body against a sturdy tree not too far from the entrance gate. As children, he convinced Thanatos to help him sneak into the garden in order to taste the pomegranates. The memories of that day never failed to bring a smile to his face. When Thanatos was first summoned to begin his godly duties, Zagreus snuck into the garden to help calm his loneliness. He eventually formed a habit of coming here on his most difficult days.
With little to distract him beyond the scent of the fruit and quiet flow of the Styx, Zagreus began to wonder if Thanatos still thought of him as a friend. The prince was clearly going through a difficult time. While he may have been good at hiding his struggle at one point, the years of enduring had left him without the energy or care to hide his emotions. He couldn't help but wonder why Than hadn't asked if he was okay today. The god knew him well, and surely could tell something was wrong. In fact, Zagreus thought, Than likely has known something has been wrong for quite a while. The only thing making the house tolerable for the prince was knowing that Thanatos cared for him. It was truly the only thing getting him out of bed each morning. The chthonic god clearly didn't return Zagreus' romantic affection, but his friendship was enough. The prince grimaced as he recalled the word friend seemed to make Thanatos uncomfortable earlier today. Were they no longer friends? Had the time apart damaged their bond, or was it simply age? Zagreus decided he would apologize to Than when the god came to wish him goodbye. He would wish him goodbye today, right? He always did.
He heard some commotion from within the House and decided to head to the main hall. His time in the garden wasn't calming his thoughts anyway. Maybe Achilles could spare the prince some time to spar? From the entrance of his bed chamber he noticed Thanatos talking with his brother Hypnos. Than seemed to be scolding his brother, who simply chuckled in response. The prince began to walk towards the pair, his legs moving on his on, but before he could make it a few paces there was a dazzling flash of green and Thanatos was gone.
He hadn't said goodbye. Zagreus could no longer hold back his tears.