museboxofmuses | (no subject)

“Mm, I thought so,” Hades replied, rubbing Prometheus’ scalp with the arm not pinned between them. Idly, he thought that it would be too hopeful, and perhaps a bit unfair to Prometheus if this took seed. Perhaps he had been hasty... and he wanted more of just this. Oh well, can’t go tying and untying Prometheus’ tubes based on his mood. As funny as that might be.

Hades enjoyed his own afterglow, though resisting the nap that threatened to take him. “I did too, of course,” he said, breathing in Prometheus’ scent. “Hmm... I suppose I’ll move in tonight.”

"Mm...?"

Oh, right. Yeah. Hades was moving in. He forgot.

Initially, Prometheus hadn't been overly keen about that. It would be a major disruption to the comfortable routine he had uneasily settled into - but, maybe it was the afterglow, but it didn't seem like such a bad idea now. It might be a bit awkward - they always liked their own space to retreat to - and, some things would need working out...

...

He'll think on it later.

"Not gonna burn down my house and remake it first?" he asked drowsily. His soul felt very warm puddle-y, right now. He could feel the discomforting needle like prickle of the doom shrapnel, though, but he easily ignored it. His soul always felt hypersensitive after an orgasm, so he was just more aware of the unwanted intrusion than usual.

“Too tired to,” Hades said with a sigh. “I’d planned on it, but I think I’ll save it for when I’m feeling testy with you,” he said, and it was hard to tell if he was joking. With his soul still so deeply intertwined, he could feel the prick of the Doom shrapnel as well.

“I wonder what they’ll do without us, at the convocation,” Hades mused aloud. One by one, the members had all taken strides to make their own children... Zodiark had encouraged it, and everyone agreed that it was too lonely. Even for a curmudgeon like Hades.

That was the question, wasn't it?

"I dunno," Prometheus sighed, leaning away enough so that he wasn't talking directly into Hades's neck. He idly tugged at a sweat-damp lock of Hades's hair, playing with it by wrapping it gently around his finger.

"I don't think they'll be what they used to be, anyways," he admitted after a pause, his tone slightly cautious. Even skirting the topic of Zodiark tended to cause tension between them, "Since, we're under 'new management' and all. The role of 'Convocation' might change into something else and... yeah."

It left Prometheus feeling unsettled, thinking about a different future. He didn't like it. It was too uncertain and strange, and... he didn't know. Normally he liked new, and exciting things, but this was too much new, much too involuntary, to get much excitement about it.

Hades could feel Prometheus trying not to get into it, and even if he largely disagreed, he respected that he was merely coming from a place of unease. He sighed, and then shot Prometheus a smirk. "Maybe they'll actually get some work done. Especially since I left a recommendation for Hythlodaeus to take my place."

Hades closed his eyes as he felt Prometheus play with his hair. "Nothing... Can really go back to what it was, you know. I think we took it for granted, being allowed to only change when we wanted to... Nature lives by nature's rules, but we stood somewhere outside of that, hadn't we?"

Hades rubbed his back, and then hoisted himself up out of bed. There was still much to do, unfortunately.

Prometheus couldn't imagine Hythlodaeus leaving the Convocation unscathed if he got accepted into their midst (if Hyth even accepted, since it was widely known he had initially refused the title of Emet-Selch when it had been offered to him). Then again, that might be what they needed, Hythlodaeus's brand of mischief, shaking things up...

He didn't comment on Hades's thoughtful insight, though. It was what he'd been saying in the days leading up to the Doom - how they had sat outside the flow of the Lifestream for too long, how this was an inevitability they simply had to accept - but he didn't feel very vindicated about being proven right. If anything, he'd hoped to be proven wrong in this, at least.

He rolled onto his back when Hades got up, his gaze flicking down to see that the insides of Hades's thighs were, well, more than a little messy. He felt his face warm a little, glancing away as he tried not to think about how desperate he must've looked and felt to Hades, fucking him that enthusiastically with barely any stimulation whatsoever...

"Um," he started, "You wanna shower together?"

Hades bit his lip. There were conversational pitfalls everywhere, it they were both feeling amicable enough to let these things slip. It would come to a head eventually, and he wondered if it would be worse to wait to tell him. ...It would. And he was in good spirits... so. That meant he could either annihilate a perfectly good evening or be able to deliver difficult news without Prometheus fell apart.

Unfortunately, he had spent so long pondering this that it took him a moment to hear Prometheus. “Hm? Oh. Right. We should, shouldn’t we?” Hades walked over to the bathroom and cautiously opened the door. Never knew when the contents of the house might shift, especially with Prometheus’ poor control over the structure. Worse, Hades was such a powerful mage that Zodiark was unable to fully yoke his powers. Hades Created like he breathed— he was so natural at it and his mistakes so infrequent that he would forget that he could shift reality in inconvenient ways.

This time, as he opened the door, a birds flew out, forcing him to duck as they flitted around the room.

Prometheus didn't have much time to feel put out about Hades delayed, distracted reply on account of his bedroom door deciding to spit out a flock of brightly coloured bird when Hades opened it. His house must've linked to the ornithology lab in the Acadaemia again.

"Oh, come on! I fixed that problem a century ago!" He groaned, sitting up. He found it hard to be truly annoyed, though, especially when a few birds landed on the bed next to him, hopping onto his legs or shoulders. He always did attract birds without trying - animals in general, really, and they all tended to instantly love him.

Probably a Lifestream thing.

"But you guys are cute, though..." he crooned, gently stroking one handsome bird perched on his thigh, smiling when it affectionately nibbled on his finger. Ah. Birds. They were perfect. How he loved them, these brilliant little things... "Hades, aren't they cute?"

Hades smiled at them, reaching over to let one nibble his finger. “I don’t think they would appreciate it if we used the flamingo pond to bathe... Again.” Even if it was the middle of the night and they should not have had any chance of getting found. Turns out they had recently added guards after the Xerora tourist incident.

“How long before someone noticed that they’re gone?” Hades tiredly started looking for his clothes, gave up, and snapped something onto his body. It didn’t match. Now? Was now the time to tell him? Maybe he should flip a coin. Hades’ expressive nature couldn’t contain his frown. Stupid! Make a choice or it won’t be yours to make! Tell him or don’t! Hades looked at Prom, all with love in his eyes and joy on his features.

“Hey... so. I have a caveat about this whole...thing. That you should probably know,” Hades let one of the birds land on him. “Since a soul could take.”

Prometheus glanced over at Hades, his happy expression tempering into something more guarded. He could feel the uncertainty and wariness bubbling up in Hades, like it usually did before he dropped a very unpleasant bombshell. Prometheus felt steady enough to deal with a nasty surprise right now though... right?

"What caveat is that?" He asked, mentally running through a list of possibilities. If it was regarding their kids, and this level of caution from Hades, the answer was already glaring him in the face. He felt his soul clench at the idea of it, like a steel trap swinging mostly shut, sharp teeth and all.

“Since I’ll be the carrier... The child may become tempered in the womb,” he didn’t know if Prometheus knew this already. It was likely that he didn’t. It’s not like he went out all that much. All the children stayed close to Zodiark’s protection... and of course he tempered them.

“I’m not entirely sure that Zodiark can control it either,” Hades said, expression drawn with his arms folded. “So... I suppose you should cope with that possibility sooner than later.”

And of course, were someone to ask that if Zodiark changed him... he was never entirely be sure. Of course he knew that they all became tempered, but that was by design, not flaw. What good would a god be that fell out of favor or acted against its peoples’ wishes and best interest?

“Even if they aren’t...” it’s a matter of time, he didn’t say.

Prometheus didn't immediately respond. His soul had completely shut Hades off, though, physically looking away from him as he focused on the birds in his lap instead. That made it less stressful to think about.

The thing was, he already knew that. He was aware the children would be tempered, and that it was an ugly necessity. He was painfully aware that his own immunity to Terminus wasn't easily replicated, because it was a culmination of his own soul modifications and other mysterious circumstances.

He knew all that.

Didn't make it easier to accept, though. The idea, the thought, of tempering, made him feel physically ill. And. Their children being that...

But, Prometheus was trying his best to be less crazy and irrational. So. Right. He wasn't happy about it, at all, but it was a thing. Fine.

"Okay," he said, managing to sound calm - too calm, maybe. His tone sounded distant, even to himself, "I understand. I don't have a choice in the matter anyways, so I have to accept it."