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When Hades first agreed to babysit Poseidon for Apollo, he didn't know what to expect.
At first when Poseidon had been little around him, he'd been rather quiet. Though, in his defense, Hades was sure Poseidon had never intended for him to find out that he regressed in the first place. After that, his younger brother's little side had warmed up to him, eventually becoming more talkative and playful. This was only made more evident the first time Apollo asked him to babysit. Initially, Hades had been nervous. Sure, he'd played with Poseidon and gone to Apollo's place whenever Poseidon asked for him, but that was different than him actually watching the boy. But once he'd actually gotten the handle of babysitting and done it a few times, he grew to enjoy it and even Poseidon would sometimes ask when he would watch him again.
Well, the day had arrived when he would need to watch him again. Apollo had contacted him maybe an hour prior, asking if he could watch Poseidon. Ares had gotten himself pretty injured in a spar with Athena and he required all of Apollo's attention at the moment. The God had agreed without hesitation, teleporting to the infirmary to pick him up once he was done with his last bit of paperwork. The moment he appeared in the infirmary, he was tackled in a hug by his little brother. "Hi Bubba!" The little greeted with a smile, making grabby hands to be picked up. Hades chuckled softly, obliging his brother and settling him on his hip. "Hello, little one. How old are we feeling today?" He asked, ruffling his hair. Poseidon giggled and held up three fingers "This many!" Hades hummed in acknowledgement, "A big boy then, huh? Well, lets get back home and we can figure out what we want to do. How about that?" With a nod of the Sea God's head and a flash of light, the pair disappeared from the infirmary and reappeared back in the Underworld. "Now, what would you like to-" Hades was cut off by an excited gasp from the little. "Doggie!"
Hades looked in the direction that Poseidon was and chuckled when he realized that his brother was talking about Cerberus. Then, he got an idea. "Do you want to play with the doggie 'Seidon?" He asked, earning a nod so fast he thought Poseidon might give himself whiplash. "Alright then." Hades made his way towards the guard dog, smiling when he heard the excited squeals of Poseidon at his side. Once they arrived, Hades set Poseidon down. "Hold out your hand so he can smell you first, alright?" Poseidon nodded, holding out his hand to Cerberus as instructed. The three headed dog curiously leaned his heads forward, sniffing the hand with each one until satisfied. Once he recognized Poseidon, he gave a sort of smile, his tongues sticking out and his tail wagging as he got excited. Poseidon giggled and scratched behind Cerberus's ears when he lowered one of his heads enough. He turned to Hades, "P'ay fetch wit' 'im?" He asked, getting a nod. "I think that's a great idea." After a moment, Hades conjured up a ball for him to use, handing to the boy.
Poseidon smiled and waved the ball at Cerberus to get his attention before throwing it into the distance, "Fetch doggie!" He giggled as the dog bounded after the ball, catching it with the middle head before bringing it back. They did this for a few more minutes until Cerberus dropped the ball at Poseidon's feet and excitedly licked him with the left head. The God squealed and laughed, now rolling on the ground to try and evade Cerberus's tongue. "Stop doggie! Tick'es!" The dog did eventually stop after Hades intervened, but now Poseidon was covered in dog slobber and dirt.
Hades chuckled at the sight, lifting Poseidon into his arms once again. "I think that's enough fetch for one day, little one. You need a bath, 'Seidon." At the mention of a bath, Poseidon perked up, his smile widening. "Yay! Bath time! Bath time!" It really was a wonder. Most children hated Bathtime. Though, Hades supposed it had something to do with him being the God of the Sea. "That's right. I even have a surprise for you for the bath." He revealed, Chuckling when the little looked up at him curiously. "Really?! Wha' is it?!" He asked, getting a fond head shake in response. "I can't tell you that. It would ruin the surprise. But I'll give you a hint: It's something you like a lot." Hades whispered the last part, almost as if telling a secret. This seemed to placate the child long enough to walk to the palace. Once they arrived in the bathroom, Hades set him down on the side of the tub and dug around in a box nearby before pulling out a little bag. "Alright, now close your eyes and no peaking!" Poseidon huffed playfully but did as he was told, squirming in place with excitement. "Can I open 'em yet?" He asked, hearing a small laugh from his brother. "Not just yet." Hades opened the back and set the items on the counter one by one. Once they were all set out, he set the bag down and stood aside. "You can open them now."
When Poseidon opened his eyes, he gasped in surprise and excitement. On the counter were carved wooden bath toys. There were a few ships with little cloth sails, a horse, and a model of Cerberus. But the best toy there was a bath safe plush of a Kraken. "I love 'em! T'ank you Bubba!" The little grabbed the Kraken, giggling when he saw that all of the tentacles could move. "You're very welcome, 'Seidon. Now, let's get you in the bath, hmm?" The God had filled the tub while Poseidon had been marveling over the toys and it was nice and warm.
Hades helped his brother get out of his dirty clothes and Into the warm water, setting the toys in once he was settled. He needed to get him washed off before his brother could start playing so he made sure he was quick about it, scrubbing him down with Poseidon's favorite soap before rinsing him off. "Alright, little one. You can play while I wash your hair."
The God grew excited, grabbing the Kraken again and the boats. Hades wasn't entirely too sure what Poseidon was playing, but it seemed as though the Kraken was hunting down the horse and Cerberus that were sitting in the boats. He was splashing then around and Hades was convinced that he was getting more of a bath than Poseidon was at this point.
The little started humming a song while he played and Hades initially didn't know what it was until Poseidon mumbled the lyrics under his breath.
"Ruth'essness is me'cy upon..."
Just as he said that, he made the Kraken dive bomb one of the ships and wrap it's tentacles around it, splashing Hades in the process. Laughing, he exclaimed to his brother, "Jus' sent you fifty!" Hades huffed a laugh, not even minding that his brother was getting him absolutely soaked. "He'es anothe' hund'ed!" The boy laughed, doing the same to the other boat.
Hades smiled and pointed to a bubble near one of the boats. "Looks like that one had a life raft."
"Not anymo'e!" The boy splashed the bubble, giggling happily.
"Oh noooo! So much paperwork!" Hades exclaimed dramatically, putting on an expression of faux dread. "Don' worry! I help 'ou Bubba!" Hades chuckled, "Will you now? So kind of you." Hades murmured, finishing up washing Poseidon's hair. "Can you tip your head back for me 'Sei? I need to rinse your hair." Poseidon nodded and Hades started on that, cupping his hand at his hairline so he didn't get soap in his eyes. "There we go. All done. Let's get you nice and dry so we can go play some more. I think Persephone also made you something." That seemed to really interest Poseidon, so once they got the toys out and drained the tub, Hades wrapped him in a big fluffy towel. "You want me to leave your hair down or put it up?" He knew sometimes Poseidon preferred to have it up, so he liked to ask. "Braid?" He heard his brother ask. "I think I can do that for you."
Within minutes, Poseidon was dried off and in a comfy chiton. He sat patiently in Hades' lap while his brother brushed his hair, starting from the bottom and working his way up so he didn't snag any tangles. Once his hair was all brushed out, Hades started to braid Poseidon's hair. His nimble fingers plaiting it with ease after many instances of braiding Persephone's hair. A moment or two later, he tied it off and picked Poseidon up. "You like it?" He asked, earning a nod.
"Alright. Now, let's see if we can find Persephone, hmmm?"
As they walked, Hades thought to himself, 'Apollo might be surprised when Poseidon brings all these home.' But that was a problem for later.