Chapter Text
“Come on, Than! Let’s have a competition!” Zagreus pleaded, tugging at his husband’s ringed left hand in a manner that would appear to most as childish. Zagreus just hoped his beloved death saw it as being playful.
Thanatos likely saw it more akin to whinging, though, if Zag’s realistic.
Thanatos scoffed loudly- a minuscule smile playing on his lips, long white braid of hair jostled by the movement of his hood. Gently, he lowers himself, allowing his feet to settle in the soft, verdant grass of Elysium before pulling his hand away to cross his arms against his chest. “What you really mean is that you wish to play as we did before Chronos broke his chains, desecrated the underworld and was promptly brought to heel by Melinoë.”
Zagreus shot him a rakish grin over his pauldron, red and green eyes softened by the expression. “Didn’t I just say that exact thing, Than dear?”
“You most certainly did not.” Thanatos rebuked, his own soft smile unwavering as he walked towards Zagreus, ashen fingers flicking his forehead affectionately, before planting a kiss in the same place. “I do believe Melinoë’s achievements are more important than our marriage, in the order of events that they occur in at least.”
“Oh Than,” Zagreus sighed, a sound like something one would expect from a young godling meeting Aphrodite for the first time rather than addressing death incarnate. “I love our Meli, I really do. She’s my sister after all, and I couldn’t be prouder of that fact. But,” Zagreus paused, brushing his warm fingers against Thanatos’ arm. A small public affection, something that he knew was just enough to toe the line. Couldn’t have him blinking away by accident before their contest, now could he? “…Our marriage will always be one of the most important events in my eternal life. I’d much rather focus on that than the destruction and reconstruction of our home. Puts a damper on my mood to think about it.”
A flush dark as night rises to Thanatos’s sharp cheek bones. “I suppose that’s fair. Besides this ‘contest’ of yours, I’m assuming there’s something else you wanted to chat about? Surely you didn’t drag our poor old Mort out just to fool about while on the job?” Thanatos needled, tilting his head just so. The golden gorget accentuating the length of death’s throat made Zagreus’ mouth run dry and his cheeks glow with the same fire that had the grass beneath his feet sizzling and crackling with the occasional quiet ‘pop!’ beneath his toes.
Zagreus pouts, grumbling petulantly. “I was ordered to defeat shades and ensure they regenerate in the correct zones of the underworld anyways... I don’t believe it was specified how I had to do it..”
Thanatos narrows his eyes, golden gaze piercing him to his very marrow.
“Fiiiiine. You caught me.” Zagreus wilts, just a smidge. He shakes his head and beams after a moment of thought.
He recalls the words Nyx told him long ago, when he was but a pouty teen, moping about his peculiar lack of godly powers, watching from the sidelines as Hypnos and Thanatos both experimented with hiding their wings and practiced their floating without him: “Godhood isn’t simply a matter of maturity.” She had mused in that airy, unreadable tone of hers, cutting him a look when he squinted questioningly at her. “Think of it more as a discovery of the extent of one’s powers, and then the exploration of one’s domain. With time and practice comes mastery. The older the god, the more masterful their control over their talents. The more vast their domain, the more tools at their disposal to master, the more time they must dedicate to the subject.” She had chided, ruffling his hair. Zagreus, in all his teenly wisdom had simply bemoaned her muddling of his aesthetic efforts at the time, not quite understanding her words in the slightest. “Do not fret, child, if you haven’t discovered your domain- for there are infinite possibilities, and you have an eternity yet to learn.”
He thinks he understands better, now, what she meant.
All the more reason to celebrate about it now, I’d wager, Zagreus thinks to himself, pride welling in his chest.
This was one such occasion- Zagreus was beginning to master a basic skill all gods have, if the stories he hears of his relatives are at all true. It feels a little silly, perhaps, being so eager to share a small milestone— especially when his lover is quite literally death itself; a concept given life by Nyx’s hands, something older than the mortals that worship the olympians, more powerful than any Ouranic god could ever claim to be. Even if they are relatively close in age- for gods, that is- that little gap of time between them made all the difference. Death was a large domain to master, yes, but so was life, blood, rebirth and flesh.
It’s like a race, Zagreus supposes. Or at least, he’s always felt like it is- He has always been rushing to catch up to Than, even as children. The only problem is, death has a twenty second head start, and his feet have only just left the starting line.
It’s a good thing these feet of mine are blessedly fast, he supposes.
Still, Zagreus has the urge to share in that new milestone. Well, that AND ask some questions about the strange second-hand boon Aphrodite had passed off to him. Something about a gift from a goddess named… something with an ‘E’? Aphrodite had been giggling too much and speaking in too soft a cadence for Zagreus to truly hear her words with the commotion going on around him.
That particular exchange had been rather…. eventful, too.
He was simply walking through a fountain chamber, lined with construction materials and resting shades; a little balcony overseeing a section of the flaming river to his flank as he made to trudge onwards. Thankfully, most of the shades lugging in materials appeared in good spirits, resting in-between shifts as another shade with a hard hat tirelessly reviewed a blueprint on a drafting table- recalculating and remeasuring material dimensions with an obsessive precision.
That was until a flash of light filled the room, so blinding he had to cover his eyes and look away.
Upon its fading, Zagreus blinked out the stinging brilliance- the colors swirling in his dazed vision only to reveal a message from Aphrodite herself— though its typical pinkish hue tinged the color of the pom-infused ambrosia mother sometimes sneaks him when she returns home from the surface.
“Hm. Odd, this wasn’t marked as a boon chamber.” He had murmured to himself, brow knotted in confusion. With a shrug, he reached out to the glowing gift. “In the name of Hades, I accept this message.”
“Hello little godling, how are things down there? I was quite excited to hear that you and your love were finally reunited!” Aphrodite giggled, in all her lovely glory, toying with a strand of her hair. “I hear you two got busy rather quick! Tying the knot so soon after being frozen in time!”
Zagreus blushed a bashful color. Of course the goddess of love would be keeping a tab on things between him and his lover, that is her domain even among gods, he supposed. And then there was that whole thing about ‘unswayable death’, so perhaps there was a little smugness on her end about even Death Incarnate falling under her spell too. He scratches at his neck, offering a shy little smile. “W-well, it’s not totally official yet, Than and I have yet to seek Hera’s blessings, and to officiate it the Olympian way with an actual ceremony—“
“Oh come now, you speak as if the God-Queen wouldn’t officiate your union in a heartbeat, little godling!” The goddess clicked her tongue, shooting him a knowing look. “Fretting doesn’t suit you. Gives beings wrinkles, you know.”
“Ah, um, well I suppose you’re right about that—“
“Now, I have a little wedding gift for you! Complimentary of myself and the goddess E-“
The goddess was cut off by a resounding series of ear splitting roars. Zagreus whipped his head around in time to see the resting shades begin to pitter about, movements colored by intense panic.
Glancing back out across the balcony, Zagreus watched as Lernie reared her many skeletal heads, rising from the Phlegethon with what was perhaps her worst temper tantrum to date. She snapped at the working shades, roaring and trying to swallow them whole or throw their incorporeal bodies into the lava field using her deadly maw- Thrashing and throwing her weight around, slamming into the work site with such force that dust shook free from the walls of their distant fountain chamber and she sent spears of searing hot lava splashing into the air.
In all the chaos, Zagreus had time to just catch the tail end of Aphrodite’s message. “Use that boon wisely, now!” And with an infectious giggle, the goddess was gone just as quick as she had appeared.
The whole interaction left Zag with an uncertain feeling in his bones, but hearing of another in the pantheon passing him a message always makes his day a bit brighter. He’d never reject a gift given out of pure kindness, even if he didn’t quite understand what it was exactly he was being given- even if someone else needed to deliver the message. He wasn’t exactly the most accessible god, he reasoned.
And who in their right mind rejects a goddess’ early wedding gift, especially one given by Aphrodite herself? Such an action examples the very hubris that gets men killed in great sprawling wars and gets lesser gods punished, as Achilles was sure to teach him.
Besides, he thought to himself, attempting to quell the queasy feeling writhing in his core, boons always wear off the moment I inevitably die. I’ll just look it up in the codex once I’m back at the house.
A throat clearing interrupted his scattering thoughts. “Well?”
Zagreus’ lips quirked up again, a bit shy this time. “It’s a bit silly, in retrospect.”
“‘Silly’ is a welcome change to my typical line of work, Zag.”
“You’ve got me there, love.” Zagreus chuckled. “Well there’s two things, actually. I received a second hand boon from another goddess through Aphrodite. A name that started with an ‘e’ sound, if I heard her right. Ellis or…. something similar, maybe? Toll any bells?” Zagreus prompted, a hopeful lilt to in his timbre.
Thanatos snorted a laugh. “Eris, one of my siblings, it sounds like. Darkness knows why she would give you a boon, much less through Aphrodite of all the goddesses. From my understanding, Eris prefers offering her gifts to your sister. And does so In person. Odd.”
“I wouldn’t know. But that would explain why I couldn’t find her name in my codex.” Zagreus sighed with an easy shrug. “No matter! I’ll figure out her boon later. Maybe Meli can ask Hecate to help fill out my codex too. What I actually wanted to show off was more along the lines of this.”
Zagreus curled in on himself briefly, the muscles and flesh in his shoulders bubbling, writhing, before sprays of scorching blood arched from his form, burning through his chiton. Coagulating mid air, the very shape and nature of them changing, sizzling, burning with an acrid scent, like rusted armor. Suddenly, the red ichor turned from congealed goop, to a more defined shape, scabbing over into a solid mass. Feathered wings he had conjured forth from his very own blood, like those Zagreus had once seen on the mortal amphoras depicting birds his mother had brought him long ago, took shape. Large crimson arcs, burning with a hellish glow at the ends of his feathers- not unlike the flames of his feet- were revealed as what was once god-blood flaked off into the Elysium breeze like dark red snow.
Zagreus straightened excitedly- far too quickly after such blood loss, even for the god of blood- and sent himself stumbling into Than’s death-quick embrace.
“Look, see? Now we match!”
“I still have my wings tucked away, love.” Thanatos pointed out, his gaze soft and gooey with a fount of adoration, even as he actively tired and failed to keep the notes of affection from his tone.
“So did I, till just a second ago.”
Thanatos stifled a snort, giving his prince a doting smile, unable to resist the giddy look in his eyes. “You’ve gotten much better at manipulating your form, even if it’s just something partial like this. Impressive.” Than purred lightly, ignoring the slight singeing of his fingers as he stroked the glowing crimson feathers at his lovers back. “Still, I’ll never understand why your extremities seem to burn and glow like heated metal.”
“You can try asking my father, but good luck getting a satisfactory answer.” Zagreus jabbed, burrowing himself further into the embrace. Thanatos pried him off with a flush upon realizing the prince of the underworld was no longer dizzy, simply clinging- like Cerberus’ shed fur on a linen surface. Zagreus shot him an unbecoming pout.
“Zag.” Death chastised.
“Ugh, fine.” Zagreus whined, wings shrinking back into the prince’s flesh, returning to blood once more. “Now about my offer…?”
-+-+-+-
Zagreus felt his heart thrumming in his veins, his blood singing with life and its energy. Shades, chariots, all annoying entities of Elysium were charging at him, but he couldn’t even care, because he was fighting back to back with his beloved, and laughing as they sent shades back to Erebus, to await their eventual regeneration.
At this point, it was less so a competition, and more about the nostalgia of the moment. Like vintage nectar, time made it that much sweeter.
Until Zagreus took an arrow to the foot- gods, what bastard aims for the foot of all places?- and stumbled forward just enough for a sword to slash across his middle, the bite of the blade a painful burn up his middle as he let out a stifled groan of agony.
Thanatos whirled about, eyes wide at the sound. “Zagreus!” His husband dispatched the shade responsible in a matter of seconds, a single elegant twist of his body and swing of his scythe, and the undead warrior was cut clean through the middle, gone in a puff of foul miasma.
A second was all it took.
That last damnable shade sent an arrow intended for the prince through Thanatos’s middle with a ‘thwunk!’, a metallicy plum-colored ichor welling up where he’d been hit. Than cursed, wincing, but otherwise probably just fine.
Zagreus took immense offense to this regardless however, sending Varatha hurtling through the murderous shade, skewering it square through the chest. It dissipated like smoke. That was the last of them.
“We’re rusty. Must be getting old.” Zagreus chuckled, limping over to check on his husband.
“We’re gods, Zag. We do not ‘get old’.” Thanatos hissed, his breath sharp and tight as he clutched the arrow shaft, and pulled. The motion was followed by a large spurt of darkness infused ichor staining the black of his chiton, though Thanatos only seemed inconvenienced, rather than mortally wounded. “Only careless, it seems.” Death muttered, sending his scythe to aether for the time being.
“Luckily there’s a fountain room ahead.” Zagreus winced as he pulled the arrow through the meat of his foot and out the other side, infinitely grateful that godhood made what would be painful injuries to mortals such as this feel like little more than skinned knees and embedded thicket thorns to them. “What do you say we take a dip and get cleaned up?”
Thanatos let out a huff, scowling a little. “I’d say by the look of that hole in your foot, we don’t have much of a choice.” Death incarnate took a princely arm- ducking beneath it, his body a brace to support his injured lover. Zagreus scoffed, pointedly eyeing where a large splash of crushed-orchid ichor was seeping through the front of the prince consort’s chiton. “You’re one to talk. Let me see your clothes when you get to the fountain, I’ll remove the blood for you.”
“Only if you hold pressure on that gash in the meantime and keep off your lame side.” Thanatos huffed.
“Aw, you do care…” Zag teased through a wince, hobbling along as best as he could manage.
The door opened for them with a click, followed by the grating noise of massive stones grinding against each other. It felt like an eternity in itself, waiting while they bled for the stone doors to part before they could safely enter the fountain chambers.
They wobbled forward on three unsteady legs, towards the refreshing pool in the center of the room before flopping themselves down on the marble steps.
Zag struggles a bit through the removal of his thicker chiton. “Sometimes I miss having a less modest uniform…” The prince sighs, wincing as he unclips his shoulder pauldron. “Less effort to get undressed back then.” Without the pauldron, much of the fine and thick fabric flopped away, revealing the deep red gash oozing from his middle. Zagreus began pulling on his belt now, too.
Thanatos simply scoffed, golden gorget gone and now his cloak along with it. “You just liked showing off some skin.” Death muttered, swiftly casting off his own shoulder armor, and with a swift, surgically precise tug, off came his belt- his chiton falling to his pallid brown feet where he stood.
“I don’t recall ever hearing you complain about it…” Zagreus sang, teasingly wiggling his brows as he shucked off his tights.
Thanatos shared a small, private smile with him, cheeks flushed a little darker. “I never claimed to have a problem with it.” And removed his own tights. Zagreus spluttered, searching for a witty reply and drawing a blank. Finally bare, death slipped into the fountain to bask in its warmth and relaxing atmosphere, the water knitting the wound in his midsection closed like it wasn’t ever there to begin with. The endless toil of his work would have to wait a moment, it seemed.
Zagreus threw a foot into the pool and sent a spray of water over his beloved in revenge. Thanatos simply shielded his eyes with an easy laugh. Truly, marriage has made us all the softer, Zagreus pondered with a sappy look on his face and wonder in his eyes as he gazed at his beloved gentle death- who flushed when they locked eyes as if they weren’t already married in the traditional underworld manner, by the gods. After dodging a retaliation splash, he turned back to his husband’s chiton, and swiped it up in one hand. He held the other outstretched, welcoming and coaxing as he urged the pulseless blood to collect in a ball on his palm instead of staining and seeping further into the silken fabric. Easy as pulling puppet strings, the dark plum liquid jumped to him much like Cerberus tends to tackle him after a particularly long run, as though eager to obey and puddle itself into his hand.
That was all well and good. Normal, even.
What was not normal, however, was that instead of becoming a little ball of blood to return to his beloved’s body, it seeped into his skin and disappeared.
Zagreus stared bewildered for a moment, simply blinking. One moment it had been in the cup of his palm, the next it had leeched into his skin and disappeared. Where in Tartarus had it gone?
“Zagreus. Get in the pool already. Unless you intend to discover a new method of dying marble tiles out there?” Thanatos called out with a raised silver brow and a wide gesture of his hand to his still-gushing wounds.
“Oh! Right, um yes.” He mumbled, tripping over his words as he haphazardly dropped the black chiton, and swung his other leg over. Gently, he lowered himself into the pool, hissing through his teeth as the warm water made contact with his injuries and began to knit them closed too.
He’d have to figure out what new ability that might’ve been later. For now, he had time to spend basking in the warmth of the Elysian pool, taking turns between washing his husband and letting his husband wash him in return. A quiet, non sexual comfort they hadn’t made time to indulge in since before his sister’s birth.
For a moment, Zagreus felt he knew what it meant to be at peace with the world.