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When Zagreus sought out Thanatos after their last bitter encounter, he appeared no less wounded. He had hoped sending a horde of wretches after him would get it out of Thanatos’ system, but the elder god had always had a vengeful streak. He could relate.
“You’re right, Than,” Zagreus admitted, contrite, “I should have said goodbye to you. I owed you that much.”
Gazing at the River Styx from the balcony in the House of Hades, Death himself turned with slow, dignified grace. Did he detect a flicker of forgiveness in that intense stare? Perhaps he would accept this small peace offering.
“I’m surprised,” Thanatos drawled, voice carefully controlled as always, “I thought your stubbornness would prevent you from apologizing.”
“I hope you know I didn’t make this decision lightly. In fact, in doing so I’ve come to realize a lot of things I’ve been ignoring. One of them being…” Zagreus placed a hand on the back of his neck and looked away as he said, “Well, how I feel about you.”
Thanatos scrutinized him, his lips parting in a soft inhale.
“Maybe I…” Zagreus continued, peeking at him with his head bowed, rubbing his neck, “I was afraid to confront you. I didn’t want to have to say it.”
“Goodbye?” Thanatos confirmed, taking a step closer.
The prince smiled wistfully, his eyes gentle. He nodded, then dropped his hand back down at his side. He squared his stance and exhaled.
“Then don’t say it,” Thanatos entreated, unable to take another step forward. The son of Hades seemed too far away to reach, even with less than a body’s length between them. “Don’t go.”
He watched the smile drop from Zagreus’ face.
“I’ll see you again, Than. What I’m doing - it won’t be easy. It will take time.”
Thanatos felt his own demeanor become gray as granite and just as solid; immovable.
“It’s futile, Zag. You must know that.”
He could tell that his words were not getting through to Zagreus. Not like this.
Zagreus frowned before his face fell. Perhaps he had been hoping for some encouragement. But what good would that do in this place? He knew as well as Thanatos did that there was no escape.
Θ Θ Θ
When Zagreus reached the entrance of Elysium again, he noticed a smattering of ruby red against the greenery - like his blood had already been spilt in battle. Upon closer observation, they appeared to be flowers. He had heard tales of what the surface looked like from Thanatos, and knew that flowers came in all sorts of colors up there - not just the eternal white that was unique to these hallowed battle grounds.
He followed the trail of red to a cave the River Lethe ran through.
In it was a meadow of the conspicuous flowers, blanketed atop the plush green and drawing the eye just as the royal color of the House of Hades always did. The natural tunnel was short enough that he wouldn’t have to walk far to make it to the end where the river escaped and the aperture of pearly sky pierced the gentle, humid gloom. Zagreus had never seen anything like it before. He knew its beauty would haunt him.
The mist appeared to coalesce where the meadow was particularly dense with the striking flowers. He was drawn to that spot and approached without hesitation. As he did, the fog parted to reveal a segment of crimson too deep to be delicate petals. Out of place sat an ornate chaise lounge, upon it the God of Sleep himself. Zagreus blinked and shook the damp from his head.
“Uh, hi, Hypnos…” Zagreus greeted him, perplexed, “What brings you to Elysium? Not here on my father’s orders, are you?”
“Hi! That’s a great question,” He chirped, lounging with his hands behind his head, “Don’t you worry - I’m not here on your father’s orders, despite your attempts to run away from home against his wishes!”
Zagreus couldn’t help but scoff in self deprecation, “Well, when you put it like that, I’m at ease. What’s with all these red flowers?”
“They’re poppies,” Hypnos propped himself up on one arm to explain, “My favorite up on the surface for their soporific effects.”
“Ah. Makes sense,” Zagreus said, eyeing the expanse of the cave again to see if he had missed a haggle of shades or Exalted hiding in the corners. But it seemed deserted save for Hypnos. Still, he wondered what brought Hypnos here. It was hard enough getting anything but an opaque response out of the air-headed god.
“Right, okay,” Zagreus shuffled on his feet for a moment, “I’ll be going, then. Exalted to kill and all that. Who else is going to fill up those lines at the entrance for you to catalog? Other than Lord Ares, of course. Or your brother.”
Hypnos stretched out on the chaise, yawning, eyes half-lidded, “I’m on break right now. Don’t you think this is a cozy spot? I can traverse the River Lethe at will. It doesn’t take long to get here at all.”
Despite himself, Zagreus found this fascinating. “Is that so? I didn’t know that. It is a beautiful spot.”
“Ideal for a picnic, isn’t it?” Hypnos continued, twirling a lock of hair on his finger, “Why don’t you have a lie down in the poppies? Just to recharge before you go back to… filling up the lines to the House of Hades.”
Zagreus chuckled, surprised that Hypnos could be charming instead of insufferable.
“Can’t sleep lately,” Zagreus explained, “Too much on my mind. I bet you’ve never had this problem.”
“Can’t say that I have,” Hypnos agreed, smiling wide and satisfied, “I can help with that if you like! Lay down and I’ll send you off - nice and deep.”
The thought had some appeal, and Zagreus let himself consider the temptation of rest for a moment. But it soon slipped away as his single-minded determination took over.
“Very kind of you, Hypnos,” He said, eyeing the meadow of poppies once more, “But I better be on my way.”
Just then, a flash of desaturated green lit the cave and none other than Thanatos appeared before them.
Zag jumped and his hand went for his sword.
“Than,” he relaxed when he saw him - a vision of somber ash in the parting mist. He looked imposing and stoic as always.
“You’ve made it to Elysium,” he monotoned, eyeing Zagreus up and down. For some reason, it made him feel exposed, like he was being dissected by that scythe.
“Surprised?” Zagreus quipped.
Thanatos did not smile. Auriferous eyes pierced into him like Artemis’ arrow. They softened after a moment.
“I hoped you’d come here,” was his mysterious reply.
The prince felt a flutter in his insides, like a butterfly ball was stuck in there. This was all starting to look like a setup. No, like a date. Did Thanatos return his feelings, buried deep under that simmering anger?
Thanatos pulled out a bottle of nectar. It must have been one he had gifted to Than, since he couldn’t imagine him keeping contraband otherwise.
“Care to have a drink with me?” Thanatos asked beneath coy lashes.
Zagreus couldn’t see the exits to the tunnel now, veiled as they were in the creeping mist from the river. He couldn’t believe Thanatos was actually taking a break from work. It made him feel important - special, even. Like he was a priority.
“O-of course,” Zagreus sputtered, “I could spare a moment on my journey for you, Than.”
Thanatos sat upon the blanket of poppies and lifted the cork to the decanter. Zagreus quickly followed, in awe of this turn of events. He picked a poppy from the grass next to them, and twirled it between two fingers.
“Cheers to… determination,” Thanatos said.
“I’ll drink to that,” Zag smiled, his fingers brushing Than’s as he took the bottle. They were cold, but supple. Zagreus shivered in anticipation.
He closed his eyes and threw his head back as he took a swig. It was delectable - heady and warm. Dionysus himself would rejoice to taste it.
He looked to Than, who lowered his hood. His hair shone so radiant white in the twilight-dawn it was hard to look at. Those eyes - they hadn’t left his the whole time.
Zagreus leaned forward before he could stop himself - wow, the good stuff sure hit fast - and tucked the poppy behind Than’s ear, brushing past that cascade of neatly parted hair, fine as spider silk.
Than blinked, inhaled in surprise. Zagreus shuffled closer, his arm touching Than’s now, and he leaned in closer -
“You finished with that?” Came the cloying voice of Hypnos not far beside them. Zagreus had forgotten he was there, he had been so entranced.
“Sorry…” He said, “How rude of us not to offer you any.”
He held out the bottle and looked to Hypnos. The vision of crimson robes and white trim filled his field of view. It was as if time slowed down in that moment, and his breaths came like deep, heavy currents. He could hear his own heartbeat, pumping scarlet blood throughout his body. The image of Hypnos split into three - six pairs of half-lidded eyes bulging from their sockets, sleep mask shoved up top sugar-spun hair.
His head was filled with fog. The mist swallowed reality and spat it back out into something dreamy and abstract. He turned back to Thanatos, who was watching with rapt attention. There was something hungry in those ichored irises. His pupils dilated - split into a recursive triad before his own eyes.
“Than, what - ” the prince inquired, rapidly losing track of continuity, “What was in that stuff? I don’t remember it being so strong before.”
“Zagreus,” Thanatos cooed, leaning into him and burying that cool hand beneath his crown and into his locks. It felt divine. In his ear, he whispered, “I feel the same way.”
Zagreus felt a rush of heat course through him at the confession. He had hoped! But he hadn’t thought that Thanatos would be so bold so soon…
The older god leaned back only slightly, stroking his neck and holding him captive with those hypnotic eyes. The prince smiled a little, once the surprise faded.
Zagreus thought that they must have leaned in again at the same time, because he couldn’t have stayed still when something so exciting was happening. He felt himself sigh into the kiss as if he had quenched an undying thirst. He tried to embrace Thanatos as well, but his arms were heavy and limp as if he had just slain a thousand Exalted. As far as he got was stroking at Than’s leg, hoping he wasn’t moving too fast for the temperamental god.
But soon his arms were the least of his problems, because as they kissed, he began to lose control of the postural muscles in his back. He gasped into Thanatos’ mouth, panicked and rapidly lost focus of their intimate moment. He felt himself fall backward - Than caught him in his arms and kissed him more deeply. Zagreus whined, withdrew from their kiss - tried to bring his arms up again when Than chased his lips.
“Wait - Than, wait - “ he begged, and the image of Than’s glorious, gold-flushed face split into three - then nine - then, nearly one hundred of him.
Thanatos didn’t engage his mouth again, but he stroked his arms, breathed on his neck, trailed his nose up to his ear and nuzzled at him like he were a stuffed toy.
“I’m so glad you…” He felt his tongue become heavy, but hope had not yet abandoned his voice, “like me too… ” He managed another small smile, “But what is - is happening to me right now? Something doesn’t feel right…”
“It’s not just the nectar, Zag,” Thanatos explained, slipping the Cerberus pauldron off his shoulder, “It’s a spell that only Hypnos could finesse.”
He glanced at Hypnos with great effort, coming in and out of view within the depths of the mist and an endless radial mirror of multiplied images.
Thanatos unclasped his belt and opened his chiton. Zagreus’ chest was heaving, his heart pulsating with anxiety.
“This is - it’s so fast - ” He watched as Thanatos stroked at his chest in awe, flicking at a nipple. He twitched and moaned in hushed assent, “your brother is still here,” he said, unnerved at Hypnos sitting on the chaise lounge - unmoving, unblinking.
“Aw, come on!” It sounded like an echo in a distant cave, “Nyx is your mom too. I’m not just his brother.”
“He’s right,” Than agreed, taking his time tracing swirls onto his skin, “Why do you insist on this folly of making it to the surface? If your… birth mother is out there, you’ll never make it far enough to find her.”
Death was tugging the leggings off his pliable limbs. Zagreus tried to move his legs, but he could barely tense them. He felt as liquid as the river.
Hypnos stared greedily at his naked form and Zagreus looked away, frowning with what little control of his facial muscles he could muster.
He felt a steady hand stroke up the back of his thigh, cup his ass, squeeze, then settle further into the cleft. It aroused him as if his nerves were being stroked directly and Zagreus’ eyes rolled back into his skull. Words died on his tongue before he could form them.
“ Please, Than… ” He managed with great effort, becoming more perturbed by the moment, “Not here… not like this…”
Hypnos’ grin faded in a whirl of cloud.
“ Shhh ,” Thanatos soothed, pulling his legs apart and settling between them, “He just wants to watch. I won’t let him touch you. He knows that you’re mine.”
Zagreus gasped as two slick fingers penetrated him. He tried to resist - tried to tense up or shift away - but his limbs remained stubbornly inanimate. Even his rectum was relaxed as if he were in the deepest sleep. He could muster no resistance at all inside him.
He whimpered as Death explored him, eyes wide and fascinated as he drew uninhibited vocalizations from his blood-warmed throat.
Thanatos bit his lip and withdrew his fingers, overcome with lust. Zagreus couldn’t accept what he was about to do; surely he wouldn’t go this far, after all the years they’d known and loved one another. He wanted to protest again, to cry out for Than to listen - but his throat closed up. He didn’t know if it was Hypnos’ spell or his own helplessness at the situation.
The multitude of Thanatos’ scattered above him gave him a faint smile, lifted Zagreus’ thighs and prodded at his entrance with a cock as hard as stone. He didn’t protest when Thanatos breached him in one long, agonizingly gradual plunge. It felt like a smooth, sharp blade had made a home in his gut. It didn’t feel like a union of affection. But what did Zagreus know of love? He knew only what Nyx and Hades had shown him, and with it an aching feeling that something wasn’t quite right.
What would Achilles say?
He could hear himself making little sounds, but was disconnected from what they meant. He was awash in wave after wave of exquisite sensation, the friction glorious - aim precise. Thanatos was staring, unwavering into his eyes. Zagreus tried to meet his gaze, then looked away when he could take no more. When he turned to the side, he was met with an even worse view: Hypnos’ bulging orbs and smiling face still watching him. It was a reminder of what was being done to him - what they were doing to him.
Thanatos pounded into him until he was sobbing - wrung out his cock and inevitably wrenched an orgasm from him. He grit his teeth and suffered the aftershocks in dread-tinged bliss. Death followed soonafter, breathing in his ear the secret to sorrow.
When Than withdrew, he cradled Zagreus to his chest like Nyx had when he was a child. When he could manage, Zag finally looked at his face again. He saw only a haze of pleasure - no shame, no regret - and a pomegranate-red poppy still tucked behind his ear.
“Why?” the younger god’s voice cracked. It took all the energy he had left.
Than stroked his face, and Zag wasn’t able to flinch away. Instead he frowned, still not ready to fully comprehend.
“I can’t accept you leaving, Zag. If you won’t stay for me, it’s up to me to make you stay.”
He kissed his forehead, then his cheek - a facsimile of gentleness.
“You and I will be together,” he droned as if it were carved in diamond, inarguable, “Forever.”
Θ Θ Θ
Zagreus couldn’t remember why he awoke, because he knew that he had things to do, which meant that he had no reason to sleep. He had a purpose - and that was escaping Hades to find his mother.
He blinked and heard the splash of the running river, felt himself shiver in the mist. He couldn’t turn to look, but he heard a sitting figure shuffle beside him.
“How long has it been, Than?”
There was a moment where he thought perhaps it wasn’t Thanatos sitting there. Or if he were, that he wouldn’t answer.
“Don’t worry about that.”
Zagreus tried to move a finger. He couldn’t even get it to twitch.
“What does Mother Nyx have to say about my disappearance?” He tried to sound accusatory, to inject his voice with righteous anger - but it sounded desperate instead. “Does she know it was you?”
Another shuffle. A sigh.
Zag could only stare at the gray rock of the cave ceiling.
“She said we should play nice as brothers. I told her Hypnos and I would take good care of you.”
Θ Θ Θ
Zagreus awakened in a cold haze to a web of uncomfortable sensations. It was difficult to untangle which was more disruptive to the dream he had been taken from - the fact that he could finally move his limbs but that this freedom was frustrated by bindings on his hands, a smooth ball in his mouth, and a death grip on his raised hips - or the jarring rhythm urging his body forward, pushing the side of his face into suffocating greenery - the cock deep inside him pulling ragged bleats from his disturbed maw.
There was a chorus of panting, a three-headed beast reveling in the merry-making of its designer. Death held him close and fucked him hard like any one of them were alive: always in control - always unchanging.
To his side, a blue shape with a pop of electric pink materialized into a coherent, familiar figure. He couldn’t stop the excitement, the fleeting hope as it escaped him -
“Meg!”
At least, that’s what he meant to shout. What he uttered was “Mmf!” around the wet ball gag secured to his face. And he realized, too late, that it wouldn’t have mattered what he said. There was no horrified expression, no pity on those sharp, distinct features. But there was fury in her eyes. She knelt, still dressed, hand hidden beneath the fabric of her battle garb, muscled legs quivering with tension - arousal painting her open lips.
She was getting off on what Thanatos was doing to him.
Zagreus jerked, flailed like the untamed creature that he was - bucked like a mad dog his father had yet to put down. He tossed his head to the other side and growled beneath the gag. Thanatos fucked him harder - the friction inside maddening - too intense to be sidelined when paired with pain so perfect.
“There you are, Zag,” a deep, calm susurration trickled into his ear.
“ Nnnnnngh ,” he groaned. Than grasped him by the hair and dragged his head back to look at Meg. He closed his eyes in defiance. Still, he could hear Meg’s raspy chuckle, tinged with sadistic pleasure. Death scraped his teeth down the side of the fallen prince’s neck, and when still he did not relent - bit down with zealous fervor. That lit Zagreus’ blood on fire and his feet flared in hot sympathy. He cried out and squeezed his eyes shut tighter, his fingers writhing in their bonds, scrabbling and ripping out grass and poppies from lush, idyllic ground.
“I like it when he puts up a fight,” Meg cooed, voice dripping with excitement.
What must he look like to her? Ass up, restrained and writhing like a bitch in heat? Of course she would find this amusing. It wasn’t like they had ended it on good terms. He wasn’t so surprised that after the things he had said to her, she would revel in his suffering. After all, she had before when she’d had his ardent consent.
“Behave,” Thanatos chastised, biting his ear with nowhere near the force that had left a leaking wound on his neck. The casual command and sly reminder in contrast to waking up to his own brutal rape only infuriated him. Zagreus pulled his arms inward to try and find any give in the rope.
Thanatos slapped him on the ass hard. The shock of it in the midst of being fucked gave him a thrill before he remembered why that wasn’t his priority. Still, he grunted and opened his eyes in reflexive obedience. His gaze flicked to her whip, laid out on the ground beside her.
“See?” Meg teased, voice breathy. “A little bit of violence and he becomes docile as a kitten.”
“You weren’t kidding,” Thanatos agreed, slowing his thrusts as Zagreus finally calmed, accepting his fate. He spanked the other cheek and Zag yelped.
“But a lot of violence would be even better,” She hissed, the corner of her mouth quirking up. Her wing extended suddenly as it always did when she was giddy. She reached for her hot pink whip.
Θ Θ Θ
This time Zagreus woke up with his head in Than’s lap, who was stroking his hair.
“Father must be pleased that you’ve stopped my escape attempts.”
“In a way I suppose he is,” Thanatos hummed.
“I didn’t expect this was how you’d execute his dirty work.”
The hand in his hair fizzled to a halt.
“That’s not why I… This wasn’t for him. And he’s not as satisfied as you think. He misses you, in his own way. He’s more sullen lately.”
“He must be heartbroken that I’m not around to help him with those endless scrolls of paperwork.”
Thanatos didn’t rise to the implicit question.
Zagreus prodded, “If he’s so unhappy, how did you get away with it?”
The hand in his hair went back to stroking.
“He thinks I’ll get bored with this after a century or two.”
Θ Θ Θ
Thanatos admired the sleeping prince. One green eye, the other perfectly inverted - open as Hypnos had arranged for him. Than touched his still, pulsing body - breathed with him, caressed his hair like a lover.
Sometimes he would explore his limp form for hours, in awe of the way Zagreus’ flesh gave beneath his fingertips.
Hypnos released his spell in increments depending on his instructions. Sometimes Thanatos asked him to allow Zagreus to move. Other times, he wanted him awake but completely silent and unmoving, so that he could see the tiniest of microexpressions on his slack face as he penetrated him.
Other times, like right now, he only wanted him to be able to speak. He saw in his eyes the exact moment his lover awakened.
‘What do you get out of this?” Zag slurred.
He trailed feather-light fingertips down his face, his neck, his collarbone. Zagreus would have shivered if he could. Instead, he endured the maddening tickle as Death circled a nipple. The prince bit his lip when finally brushed against it, squealed at an embarrassingly high pitch when he pinched it.
“Hypnos keeps your eyes open as you sleep so that I can admire your beauty,” Thanatos bent down to nibble at the bud, laved at it with a shock of wet tongue. Fine hair swept his chest in a titillating pattern.
“Is my body - ” The determined god sucked suddenly and Zagreus shuddered - bit back a moan, “all you want?”
A beat of silence went by. A gentle breeze further pebbled his excited flesh.
“If it were, you wouldn’t be awake right now,” Thanatos said.
“Do you want me to hate you?”
“...No.”
Fingertips trailed down his ribs and stroked at his hip.
“But if the alternative is losing you…”
“How could you lose me? It’s futile anyway, right? Isn’t that what you said - that I have no chance?”
Zagreus thought the irony was poignant. Somewhere, below his awareness, Than must believe he could succeed. Why else would he be so scared?
”Even if I die up there right away, I’d be sent right into your arms. You’d be the first one I’d see.”
“How romantic. I’ll see you every time you try to leave me.”
His groin, then the inside of his thigh were teased with idle fondling.
“Please let me go, Than,” he whispered.
The fingers withdrew from his skin.
“When I look into your eyes, I dream of your love.”
Θ Θ Θ
“Your spell is strong, Hypnos,” Thanatos praised, “Good work.”
“Thanks!” Hypnos piped brightly, “Happy to help.”
“How much water from the River Lethe is needed to make him forget that we’ve done this?”
Hypnos’ eyes popped. “Oh! You have more plans.”
The God of Sleep gathered up a vortex of mist until it formed a ball, then splashed it onto Zagreus’ sleeping face.
“Only that much?”
“Maybe a bit more,” Hypnos contemplated, gathering another ball from the River Lethe.
Θ Θ Θ
Zagreus saw a pale vision of Death come to him in a springy meadow in a cave with a flowing river beside it. It couldn’t be more picturesque. Beside him were mysterious flowers, blazing bright like the River Phlegethon.
“Than,” Zagreus said, smiling and sitting up. He was a bit stiff, but he managed it. He felt the torpor of sleep upon him still. He blinked at the silver incandescence of twilight scattered throughout the tunnel - or was it dawn?
It felt like his head was filled with a rapidly ascending cloud.
The God of Death was shrouded in a heavy mist from the river, which seemed to creep in from each mouth of the tunnel, blanketing them from the outside.
“Hello, Zag,” Thanatos said, hesitating, but still approaching him. What could be the matter? He had to remember that Than was always like this: cautious in his approach, but still resolute and unceasing.
He lay his scythe down and sat next to him.
“For some reason… this feels familiar,” Zagreus mused, marveling at Than beside him, taking the time to sit here in a frivolous meadow when he was usually so busy with work.
“That’s because it’s a dream,” Thanatos said, intense eyes flickering towards him - aloof behind a curtain of reservation.
“That explains it,” Zag chuckled, picking a red flower from the meadow. It certainly didn’t feel real here. “Because why else would you be here with me?”
Thanatos brow knit and he looked Zagreus up and down.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Thanatos said, pivoting his body so he was facing Zag, propping himself up on a hand, “It’s because I love you.”
“This is a good dream so far,” Zag laughed, positively mesmerized. He looked down at himself, “Wait, why am I nude?”
Thanatos’ lips quivered, but he managed not to smile.
“I don’t know, Zag. It’s your dream,” he teased, whimsical. Then his voice dropped to a husky whisper, “What do you want to happen?”
“I think I know,” Zag smirked, biting his lip and eyeing Thanatos, “I hope this is a sexy dream.”
Than’s chest rose and fell with more vigor. He didn’t break eye contact. “Then that’s what it is.”
Zagreus leaned in slow, cupped his firm cheek and kissed him.Than crooned into it, returning his passion. When he pulled back, Thanatos was looking at him like he’d never seen him before. Than smiled and it sparkled like the white sky bouncing off Lethe’s surface. He wanted to see him smile like that all the time.
They giggled like children and rolled around in the meadow, Zagreus tearing off his gauntlets, greaves, belt and chiton. When that lovely lavender chest was exposed, he kissed it like he was worshiping a marble statue. Thanatos arched into his mouth, keening and heaving like he had never been touched before.
Zagreus was eager to explore him. He dragged down his tight leggings, clasped a hand around his cock and stroked to hear him lose that famous composure. He was surprised by how vocal Than was! It was arousing him to hear how much the reticent god was getting into it. Then again, of course he would imagine the object of his fantasy as this responsive to his ministrations. It was indeed a good dream.
Than rolled them until he was on top again, pinned his arms and quelled their laughter with another heated kiss. When they parted, he felt Than’s skin grind against his, igniting tingles in its wake as he lowered his ass to rub against Zag’s waiting cock. He could feel that there was already slick dripping from his entrance, as if he had come prepared. How perfect it was to dream it all so conveniently!
They shared a look laden with uncertain meaning, and Thanatos moaned as he sunk down onto his stiff cock. He looked ethereal - nude but for his bronze collar and winged pauldron. Zag threw his head back in ecstasy and grasped those hips, bucking up into him and making Thanatos’ undulations stutter. He felt up that immaculate skin - up those defined abs and pecs until he reached metal.
“Help me take this off,” Zag murmured, pausing in his daze. Than helped him, unclasping the armor and dropping it beside them.
Thanatos appeared almost self-conscious without it. He looked down as if mourning the loss of his last barrier.
“Come here,” Zagreus coaxed, sitting up with him - playfulness turning to lovemaking. He feathered kisses against his exposed throat and Than tilted his head to allow him better access, panting with excitement - nearly overwhelmed with stimulation. Zagreus sucked on his neck, fucked into him with earnest precision. Than was nearly sobbing now, rocking on his cock in tandem with his thrusts, clutching Zag’s shoulders, bouncing and throwing his head back.
Zag himself was nearly overcome with such an uninhibited display. He fucked him like they would die without it, until their bodies begged for release. Still, the prince managed to hold on until Than exploded like a waterfall onto their heaving chests.
“Don’t stop,” Death demanded, so Zag fucked him until he groaned through clenched teeth and tore into his back with trim nails. Finally, the younger god could hold on no longer - he released with a cathartic cry and slumped into his lover, clutching him tight.
Zagreus pulled back to kiss all over his face, tufts of white hair clinging to salt-damp skin and catching on the corners of his own mouth. It wasn’t just sweat that streaked Than’s temples - there were tears streaming down his cheeks.
“Are you okay?” He asked, concern slinking into the satisfaction.
Than sucked in a shuddering breath, “I’m - “ he laughed, then tried again, “I’m not upset, Zag. I’m crying because I - I’m happy. This is the happiest I’ve ever felt.”
It tugged at Zag’s heart, but it could have been true - at least in his dream. The God of Death was usually so dour and gray. But now, he gave smiles and stared with beautiful, devoted eyes.
He held him close and said, “I’m happy too, Than.”
“Then - will you stay here with me? In this dream?”
Zag agreed easily, “Of course.”
“You don’t want to go?” There was a flicker of anxiety, and perhaps something deeper.
“Where would I go that’s better than here - with you?” he answered truthfully.
Thanatos smiled, then burst into another round of tears. He shied away, wiping his face and hiding his eyes, “Hades, I’m a mess.”
Zag reassured him with a steady smile, held his face and kissed the remaining tear tracks away. Than hugged him tight. Zag stroked his back and nuzzled into his neck.
“You know, I feel a little sleepy,” Zag said, “I hate to pull the ‘After an orgasm I literally can’t move’ line, but…”
He giggled weakly, blinked, then yawned.
“That’s okay,” Than said, “You should rest. I’ll lie down with you.”
He extricated himself from Zag’s cock with a gasp. Warm ejaculate trickled out of him, and Than blushed. They lay on their sides facing one another in the cool grass.
“Mmm,” Zag let out a contented sigh and held Than close, then whispered, “Since this is a dream, it must be okay to tell you this before I wake up…”
Than’s eyes were wide, rapt with attention.
“What is it?”
He sighed once more and his limbs went limp around where they held Than.
When it was apparent he could move no longer, Than arranged him onto his back again. He placed his arms at his sides and made sure his neck was straight so he wouldn’t wake up sore.
Than pushed his hair out of his face and kissed him sweetly on the lips.
It was okay, because Than knew what he would have said. He had felt it.
Θ Θ Θ
The Prince of Hades awakened to the bright white of twilight-dawn with unnameable dread. He knew that he hadn’t meant to be sleeping. He had something important he needed to do - if only he could remember what.
An olive-skinned man with a dark beard wandered into the tunnel and noticed him lying there in the meadow.
“Pardon me. I didn’t think any other shades occupied this cave. It merely caught my curiosity.”
Zagreus tried to speak, but couldn’t form the words. The mist was thick today.
“...ill… e…”
“What did you say? Speak up.”
He labored for crisp articulation, “Kill… me…”
The man shook his head. “The River Lethe must have done a number on you to forget something so fundamental about the underworld. Killing you won’t make any difference here.”
Zagreus knew somehow that if he were killed here, he would be free of this meadow - this pretty prison - that by the laws here, he would be taken elsewhere: to the House of Hades…
“P… sss…” He tried to plead, “Ki… m - me…” His tongue was a slug in his mouth.
“I’m sorry, shade,” the stranger said, mist enshrouding him as he drifted away, “but you’ll learn in time that there is no escape.”